Designing and Psychometric Evaluation of Breast Self-Examination Behavior Predicting Scale (BSEBPS)

Abstract

Background: Breast cancer is a public health challenge in most populations and a cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Lack of reliable and valid tools for assessing predicting factors, which influence on breast self-examination behavior of Iranian women, is obvious. This study aimed at designing and evaluating the psychometric properties of this instrument. Objectives: The purpose of this study was psychometric validation health action process approach (HAPA) scale for prediction of breast self-examination behavior among Iranian women over 40 years. Methods: In this cross sectional study, the participants were registered women 40 years and older in urban health centers in Tehran, Iran. The 200 subjects were selected by multi-stage cluster sampling. Content and face validity have been verified by a panel of experts and participants. Using exploratory and structural equation modeling confirmatory factor analyses was conducted construct validity. Results: Using explanatory factor analysis, 8 factors of health action process approach model were identified with appropriate variance explained (67.18%). The HAPA had an acceptable fit to the observations (χ2 = 2.21, df = 3, χ2/df = 1.35, P < 0.001, RMSEA = 0.049 (CI = 0.044, 0.056; AGFI = 0.90; P = 0.452; PGFI = 0.13). Conclusions: The results of the present study suggested an initial for validity and reliability of the HAPA-based breast self-examination among Iranian women.