Psychometric Testing of the Pap Smear Belief Questionnaire: Measuring Women's Attitudes and Beliefs Toward Cervical Cancer Screening

Investigating the psychometric properties of the Persian version of the attitude scale for cancer screening

BACKGROUND

Individual attitude is an essential component in facilitating people's participation in adopting cancer screening behaviors. People's attitudes toward cancer screening should be evaluated with a valid and reliable scale. Therefore, this study investigated the psychometric properties of the Persian version of the attitude scale for cancer screening.

METHOD

In this psychometric study, the Farsi version of the attitude scale for cancer screening was prepared from English to Farsi using the Backward-Forward method. Then content, face, and construct validity, plus reliability, was evaluated by Internal Consistency and Stability methods. Construct validity was investigated using Exploratory Factor Analysis with a sample of 246 adults referring to health centers in the south of Tehran. Data analysis was done using SPSS V24 software.

RESULTS

All items received an acceptable Content Validity Ratio. The content Validity Index was confirmed for all items with a value greater than 0.79. In the qualitative review of content and face validity, all items were confirmed. Unlike the original version of the scale, which was a single factor, the results of Exploratory Factor Analysis indicated the existence of 2 factors explaining 63.84% of the total variance of the scale. Reliability based on Cronbach's alpha coefficient for the whole scale was 0.88, and Intraclass Correlation Coefficient for the entire scale was calculated for scale reliability using the single-rating, absolute-agreement, 2-way mixed-effects method as 0.84.

CONCLUSION

This study confirmed the validity and reliability of the Persian version of the attitude scale for cancer screening with two factors (Willing Attitude and Unwilling Attitude). Therefore, it can be a suitable and valid scale to evaluate the attitude of the community for cancer screening.

Factors Affecting Attitudes Towards Cancer, Cancer Prevention, and Early Diagnosis Behaviors Among Cancer Patient Relatives

Attitudes towards cancer may affect the cancer prevention behaviors of cancer patients' relatives and their participation in cancer screening. Knowing the factors affecting attitudes will shed light on the education programs to be planned to encourage individuals to gain a positive attitude towards cancer and positive health behaviors in cancer prevention. Determining the behaviors towards cancer prevention and cancer screening, identifying reasons that prevent participation in cancer screening, determining the factors associated with the attitudes of cancer patients' relatives towards cancer, determining the factors affecting their attitudes towards cancer of cancer patients' relatives, can increase the awareness of healthcare professionals and patient relatives on the subject. The aim of the present study was to determine cancer prevention and early diagnosis behavior and the factors affecting the attitudes of towards cancer of cancer patient relatives. The descriptive and analytical study was completed with 321 relatives of cancer patients. The data were collected by the face-to-face interview method. The interview was conducted in a quiet place, alone with the participant, using a clear and simple language, allowing people to speak freely, and avoiding criticism and evaluation. About half of the participants smoked (49.5%), many did not do regular physical activity (67.3%) or protect themselves from the sun (77.3%), and only 10.9% had regular screening tests. The reasons for not having a screening test were ignorance, disregard, lack of complaints, and fear. Acording to binary logistic regression analysis, the determinants included factors of negative attitudes toward cancer with the age of the patient (Exp(β): 1.024), low education level (Exp(β): 2.572), being the child (Exp(β): 8.484) or sibling (Exp(β): 8.801) of the patient, not being protected from the sun (Exp(β): 2.063), and not doing physical activity (Exp(β): 1.744). Even for those having positive health behaviors, such as not smoking (Exp(β): 2.008) and using sun protection (Exp(β): 2.280), the attitudes towards cancer were negative for the Impossible to Recover sub-dimension. Cancer prevention behaviors and regular participation in cancer screening of cancer patients' relatives were very low. It was determined that low education level, increasing age of the patient, and the degree of relation to the patient negatively affected attitudes towards cancer, and that there was a need for education. We believe that the results of the present study will contribute to evidence-based practice for cancer prevention and early diagnosis.

Understanding the Challenges of HPV-Based Cervical Screening: Development and Validation of HPV Testing and Self-Sampling Attitudes and Beliefs Scales

The disrupted introduction of the HPV-based cervical screening program in several jurisdictions has demonstrated that the attitudes and beliefs of screening-eligible persons are critically implicated in the success of program implementation (including the use of self-sampling). As no up-to-date and validated measures exist measuring attitudes and beliefs towards HPV testing and self-sampling, this study aimed to develop and validate two scales measuring these factors. In October-November 2021, cervical screening-eligible Canadians participated in a web-based survey. In total, 44 items related to HPV testing and 13 items related to HPV self-sampling attitudes and beliefs were included in the survey. For both scales, the optimal number of factors was identified using Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and parallel analysis. Item Response Theory (IRT) was applied within each factor to select items. Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) was used to assess model fit. After data cleaning, 1027 responses were analyzed. The HPV Testing Attitudes and Beliefs Scale (HTABS) had four factors, and twenty-two items were retained after item reduction. The HPV Self-sampling Attitudes and Beliefs Scale (HSABS) had two factors and seven items were retained. CFA showed a good model fit for both final scales. The developed scales will be a valuable resource to examine attitudes and beliefs in anticipation of, and to evaluate, HPV test-based cervical screening.

Ensuring a successful transition from Pap to HPV-based primary cervical cancer screening in Canada by investigating the psychosocial correlates of women’s intentions: Protocol for an observational study (Preprint)

Background

Objective

Methods

Results

Conclusions

International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID)

The prediction of cervical cancer screening beliefs based on big five personality traits

Aim

The present study was designed with the aim to predict Pap smear screening beliefs based on Big Five personality traits.

Design

The present cross-sectional study was conducted with 235 women over 18 years of age in Tehran (Iran) in 2018.

Methods

The data collection tools included the demographic information questionnaire, Pap Smear Belief Questionnaire (PSBQ) and the 10-item measure of the Big Five personality traits.

Results

People with Agreeableness personality trait were more faced with risks and Barriers and factors associated with Pap smear screening beliefs; and those with Conscientiousness personality trait were more faced with risks and Barriers. Results of the present study can help to understand how the personality affects decision-making and interactions. Therefore, consequences of counselling about screening beliefs and behavioural changes can be improved by personality-based education.