Validity and Reliability of the Breast Cancer Screening Beliefs Questionnaire Among Ghanaian Women

Breast cancer screening allows early detection of treatable breast cancer malignancies. However, the use of breast cancer screening among asymptomatic women in Ghana is reported to be generally low. In addition, Ghana does not have a standardized measure to assess and quantify breast cancer knowledge and screening beliefs.

This study examined the factor structure and internal consistency reliability of the Breast Cancer Screening Beliefs Questionnaire (BCSBQ-12) in the context of Ghana. A total of 857 women from the Greater Accra Region of Ghana completed the BCSBQ-12. Exploratory structural equation modelling (ESEM) and traditional confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) were applied to the data via robust maximum likelihood estimation.

The results showed that, compared with the CFA solution, the ESEM solution provided a better fit to the data, with reduced interfactor correlations and adequate internal consistency reliability. The ESEM with target rotation supported the first-order three-factor structure proposed by the BCSBQ-12, indicating the importance of considering breast cancer screening uptake from, at least, three key domains (i.e., attitudes, knowledge, and barriers) in the context of Ghana.

The results provide sound evidence of construct validity and psychometric properties for the use of the BCSBQ-12 for assessing breast cancer knowledge and screening beliefs among asymptomatic women in Ghana.