Development and psychometric testing of a Gastric Cancer Behavioural Risk Assessment Inventory (GC-BRAI)

Gastric cancer (GC) is one of the most common cancers worldwide. There is no disease-specific tool for GC risk assessment in research and practice settings within the Iranian sociocultural context.

To develop and assess the psychometric properties of the Gastric Cancer Behavioral Risk Assessment Inventory (GC-BRAI) in GC patients in Northwest Islamic Republic of Iran.

Face-to-face interviews were performed on a convenient sample of 175 GC patients and a purposive sample of 350 matched non-GC patients as a control group. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) were performed to appraise the structure validity of GC-BRAI and examine its possible latent constructs.

The designed instrument with its 5 latent factors indicated acceptable internal consistency (0.72), reliability (0.99) and fit indices (χ²/degrees of freedom = 2.24, root mean square error of approximation = 0.049, adjusted goodness of fit index = 0.91 and root mean square residual = 0.085). The identified components were specific nutritional behaviours, typical daily diet, routine heartburn-causing behaviours or foods in diet, daily use of rice and smoked foods, and tobacco smoking/alcohol consumption, which all indicated a significant association (P= 0.0001) with high-risk of GC.

GC-BRAI can be considered a feasible tool to measure individual GC risk and a reliable data collection instrument in tailor-made risk reduction interventional programmes.