Background: Mental Health Literacy (MHL) is considered a vital determinant of mental health and has the ability to benefit both individual and public mental health. To thoroughly measure the different aspects of mental health literacy and determine level of knowledge in the community, a MHLS-Filipino version is required. Objective: This study aimed to validate the Mental Health Literacy Scale – Filipino (MHLS-F) version among Community Health Workers in a rural and an urban health center in CaLaBaRZon. Study Design: This is a methodological study that was conducted among rural and urban health workers Patients and Methods: The guidelines provided by Beaton was used as template for the process of translation and crosscultural adaptation. The first phase involved Translation and Cross- cultural Adaptation of the Mental Health Literacy Scale from English to Filipino Version (MHLS-F). The instrument was simultaneously forward translated from English to Filipino by two independent translators from the Sentro ng Wikang Filipino. Back translations into English were done by two independent translators. The expert review committee discussed discrepancies found between the original items and the back-translated version of the questionnaire through a small group discussion and evaluated the content validity. Judgement on each item was made based on the computed i- CVI. The pre-final translated questionnaire was pre-tested on 5 rural and 5 urban community health workers with similar characteristics to the study population. Suggestions or alternative wording were documented and forwarded to Sentro ng Wikang Filipino for editing and proofreading. After synthesis of all reviews, the Mental Health Literacy Scale – Filipino Version was finalized. The final version was administered to 220 Community Health Workers from the Santa Rosa CHO and San Juan MHO. Psychometric properties on internal reliability using Cronbach’s Alpha was used as complementary procedure for determining the final structure of the instrument. Results: All six domains of MHLS were translated into Filipino without any major problems. The Final Mental Health Literacy Scale- Filipino Version has 26 items under 3 subscales. It has an acceptable content validity and satisfactory internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha 0.730). Conclusion MHLS was successfully cross-culturally adapted into Filipino. The MHLS-F has good validity and reliability in assessing knowledge and attitude in mental health among community healthcare workers
Community Health Workers