Reliability and validity of the colorectal cancer screening belief scale in Turkey

Colorectal cancer is the third leading cause of cancer death in Turkey. The emphasis of the healthcare services in Turkey is on curative rather than preventive and rehabilitative approaches. Although the Ministry of Health provides many healthcare services for prevention and early detection, their availability and accessibility are very low. The purpose of this study was to test the reliability and validity of the Turkish language version of Champion's Health Belief Model Scales in measuring Turkish women's and men's beliefs about colorectal cancer. This study was carried out in Izmir, the third most populous city in Turkey. The Champion's Health Belief Model Scales was translated using a back-translation technique. A convenience sample of 470 individuals was recruited from January 2004 through March 2004. Descriptive statistics were computed for the demographic characteristics. Reliability was assessed by interpreting the item-total subscale score correlation, test-retest reliability, and Cronbach alpha coefficients. For testing the relationship between item performance and scale performance, corrected item-total correlations ranged from 0.41 to 0.79 for all 5 subscales. Cronbach alpha coefficients for the 5 subscales ranged between .54 and .88, and test-retest reliability coefficients ranged from 0.72 to 0.91. The study showed that the Turkish version of the Champion's Health Belief Model Scales has good structural characteristics and is a reliable and valid instrument that can be used for measuring beliefs related to colorectal cancer.