Psychometric properties of the Turkish version of the perceived barriers of mammography scale

Early diagnosis and screening of breast cancer are of vital importance in the fight against the disease. It is crucial to identify the underlying barriers that prevent women from undergoing mammography and to develop necessary strategies to overcome these obstacles. The purpose of this study was to adapt "The Perceived Barriers of Mammography Scale (PBMS-23)" into Turkish and to conduct a validity and reliability study.

This study used a methodological approach. The study was conducted with 233 women admitted to the Gynecology Outpatient Clinic of a university hospital. Data were collected by using the Introductory Information Form, PBMS-23, Champion's Health Belief Model Scale for Mammography Screening (CHBMS-MS). Psychometric properties of the scale were tested with content validity, confirmatory factor analysis, convergent validity, and test-retest reliability coefficient.

Content validity confirmatory factor analysis resulted in 𝜒²/SD = 1.67; CFI = 0.97, NFI = 0.92, GFI = 0.86, RMSEA = 0.054. The scale had a Cronbach's alpha of 0.87, while the subscales had Cronbach's alpha values of 0.34 to 0.80. The intraclass correlation coefficient values calculated for the test-retest reliability were between 0.83 and 0.96 for the subscales and 0.96 for the overall scale. There is a positive and statistically significant relationship (p < 0.01) between the CHBMS-MS barriers dimension and prejudices dimension scores and all subdimensions and the total of the PBMS-23.

The PBMS-23 was accepted as a valid and reliable tool with 23 items and eight-factor structure that can be useful in measuring Turkish women's barriers to mammography.