Development and Validation of the Psychometric Properties of the Perceived Barriers of Mammography Scale
Abstract Background To improve women’s participation in early detection of breast cancer we need to understand women’s perceived barriers to Mammography. Due to lack of women participation in referrals to mammography centers, this study aims to develop and test the psychometric properties of the Perceived Barriers of Mammography Scale (PBMS-23) for Iranian women.Methods A mixed method design was performed to develop the PBMS-23 during 2016–2017. The item pool was mainly generated through qualitative data and literature review. Next, the developed questionnaire was answered by 500 women ages 40 to 69 years. The internal consistency, test-retest reliability, content and face validity and construct validity (both exploratory and confirmatory) were assessed.Results Twenty eight items were initially extracted and next, based on content validity assessment, twenty three items (PBMS-23) were remained. The exploratory factor analysis revealed eight factors of believe in fate and destiny, breast conflict, defense avoidance, inconveniences/difficulties of mammography screening, contrasting/competing priorities, fear, distrust of mammography, and lack of knowledge in the PBMS-23 that accounted for 59.20 of the total variance. The confirmatory factor analysis also showed a model with appropriate fitness for the data. The Cronbach’s alpha coefficient and the intra-class correlation coefficient were 0.68, 0.90 respectively.Conclusion The findings showed that the developed PBMS-23 instrument was a valid and reliable instrument for assessing perceived barriers of mammography screening that can be used both in practice and in future studies especially in the Middle East.