Consequences of Screening in Breast Cancer (COS-BC): development of a questionnaire

The aims of the study were to translate and adapt both the negative and positive items of the Psychological Consequences Questionnaire (PCQ) into Danish and to test the translated version for comprehension, suitability, and content coverage by developing new items in a setting of false-positive screening mammography.

The translation was carried out following an internationally accepted method involving two panels: bilingual and lay.

The suitability and the content coverage of the PCQ were tested in six group interviews. Participants in the interviews were women who had had a false-positive screening mammography. They were grouped according to additional examinations they experienced following abnormal screening mammography. The audio-recordings from the group interviews were thematically analysed to identify the key consequences of abnormal and false-positive screening mammography.

Fifteen new items were generated to cover the negative psychosocial consequences of abnormal and false-positive screening mammography comprehensively. Five new items were produced that concerned the consequences of screening mammography during the period after being declared "free from" suspicion of cancer. Three items from the PCQ were deleted because they were judged by interviewees to be irrelevant. Response options for the positive items were changed to allow responses in both positive and negative directions.

Because of the major changes to both parts of the PCQ the measure derived from this study should be regarded as a new questionnaire with two parts: Consequences Of Screening in Breast Cancer (COS-BC). Part II focuses on the long-term consequences of a false-positive screening mammography.