METHODS
This methodological study was conducted on 334 voluntary male and female relatives of patient who
were between 30-70 years of age and attend family health centers at Meram district of Konya province.
A sociodemographic form and a candidate scale were used for data collection. Data analysis was performed
in a computer setting.
RESULTS
The study group of 334 participants consisted of 50% males and 50% females, and the mean age was
42.93±9.60 years. Four items with item score-scale score correlation less than ±0.200 were excluded
from the 28-item candidate scale. Cronbach"s alpha coefficient of the 24-item scale was calculated as
0.95. Face and content validity of the scale was evaluated with two different groups. Factor analysis
that was used to assess the construct validity of the one-dimensional 24-item scale determined that
explained the variance ratio was 52.62%.
CONCLUSION
As a result of our study, a new five-point Likert scale called "Attitude Scale for Cancer Screening" has
been developed. Validity and reliability studies of the scale suggest that the scale is suitable for use in
our society.
Keywords: Attitude; cancer screening; early diagnosis; scale development
Early diagnosis and treatment are possible in some forms of cancer, a public health concern faced by both
the world and our country. Early diagnosis and treatment
may increase the patient's life quality and prevent
cancer-related death. These reasons increase the significance
of cancer screening.[
To observe the benefits of community-based cancer
screening programs, such as reducing cancer-specific
mortality rate, cancer-specific fatality rate, and
cancer-specific complication/sequelae rate, preventing
recurrence and metastasis, and increasing patients"
life quality, the individuals of the community
must participate in screening programs.[
In a study conducted by Tekpınar et al.[
When the national and international literature is
examined, it is observed that there are scales developed
for breast, cervical and colon cancer screenings
through models, such as the health belief model, but a
scale that would measure the general attitude towards
cancer screenings is not available in the literature. It is
important for the researchers to measure society's general
attitude towards cancer screening with a standard
scale for cancer screenings that are currently being applied
and are likely to be added recently. By accurately
measuring the mentioned attitude, effective interventions
can be planned for groups that show both positive
and negative attitudes, and cancer screening rates can
be increased.
This study aims to develop a scale to measure the
attitude towards cancer screening, conduct a pilot application
and validity-reliability study of the developed
scale, and determine the characteristics that may be related
to the scale score.
Within the scope of this study, 334 male and female
patient relatives aged 30-70 years who provided
oral and written consent to participate in this study
and who did not have cognitive, visual, and orthopedic
disabilities preventing them from completing the
forms were included. The reason that patients" relatives
were preferred instead of patients is that patients
might be more prone to health care use. Bias was tried
to be avoided by including patients" relatives instead
of patients. Age range was specified as 30-70 since the
minimum age requirement for the "National Cancer
Screening Program" was 30 (for cervix cancer) and
the maximum age requirement was 70 (for colorectal
cancer). The national values of the relevant society can
be taken as a basis for using the scale in other societies.
The literature indicates that 50 people are very
inadequate, 100 inadequate, 200 moderately adequate,
300 adequate, and 500 people are very adequate for
conducting scale-development, validity and reliability
studies.[
The data collection form used in this study was developed
after reviewing the literature related to scaledevelopment
and cancer screening. The data collection
form consisted of two sections, including a 15-question
sociodemographic data form and a 28-item candidate
scale. The five-point Likert type candidate scale
includes 16 negative and 12 positive statements. The
candidate scale required answers on a scale of 1-5 (5:
completely agree, 4: partially agree, 3: neither agree nor
disagree, 2: partially disagree, 1: completely disagree).
The 28 items of the candidate scale were designed to
accommodate a one-dimensional scale. In the data
collection process, participants completed the forms
by themselves under supervision. Each form was completed
in about 20 minutes.
Statistical Analysis
After performing validity-reliability studies of the
scale, when the relations between score and certain characteristics of the participants provided normality criteria,
they were compared using Independent-samples
t-test, one-way analysis of variance, and Pearson"s correlation
coefficient; when they do not provide normality
criteria, nonparametric equivalents of the same tests are
used for comparison. Values-based on statistical analysis
are presented in Table
Data input, statistical analysis, and report writing were
performed in computer settings. Numerical data were
expressed as x±sd, median (min-max) values, while categorical
data were expressed as frequency distributions
(n) and percentages (%). In the reliability study of the
candidate scale, item score-scale score correlation coefficient,
item analysis based on the difference of 27% sub-
-upper group means, Split-Half reliability method and
Cronbach's alpha coefficient are used. For the validity
study of the candidate scale, face validity, scope validity,
and explanatory factor analysis for construct validity
were performed.
Reliability of the Scale
Item score-scale score correlation, 27% sub-upper
group analysis, Cronbach"s alpha coefficient, Spearman-
Brown and Guttman Split-Half coefficients for
the 28-item candidate scale are presented in Table
Construct Validity of the Scale
Before performing the explanatory factor analysis for
construct validity, the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) test
for sampling adequacy and Bartlett"s test for sphericity
were conducted to determine whether or not the study
group was suitable for factor analysis. The KMO value
of the study group was calculated as 0.96. Bartlett"s test
for sphericity yielded significant results (Chi-square=
6764.30; p<0.001).
Explanatory factor analysis was used to determine
the construct validity of the candidate form. Since the
items of the 28-item candidate scale were initially composed to accommodate a one-dimensional design in
the writing stage, this was assessed with factor analysis.
Factor loadings according to the "Principal Component
Analysis" factor analysis method of the one-dimensional
scale, which was reduced to 24 items as a
result of reliability analyses are presented in Table
Features of the Developed "Attitude Scale for Cancer
Screening"
The five-point Likert-type scale consisted of 24 items
and one dimension. The items were answered on a
scale from 5 to 1 [5: completely agree, 4: partially agree,
3: neither agree nor disagree, 2: partially disagree, 1:
completely disagree].
The scale is suitable for use in males and females between 30-70 years of age, who are at least literate and do not have cognitive, visual, or orthopedic disabilities, impeding them from completing the form.
Application of the scale is as follows: The participant reads and answers the scale items by themselves while under supervision by the researcher. The scale can be applied with a proper sampling and application method in any situation where it is needed to measure attitude towards cancer screening.
The minimum score of the scale is 24 and the maximum score is 120. Since the scale is an attitude scale, no specific cut-off point was established. Scores near 24 indicate negative attitude, while scores near 120 indicate a positive attitude towards cancer screening. When calculating scores, 13 items with statements of negative meaning (Items 9, 12, 14-24) should be inversely coded. The order of the items is not important. The researchers may use a mixed order for the items.
Attitude Scale for Cancer Screening-Short Form
Given that researchers may require a shorter form during
conducting their studies, a short form consisting of
15 items from the original 24-item Attitude Scale for
Cancer Screening was also developed.
The short form is as follows: The lowest score that
can be obtained from the scale is 15 and the highest
score is 75. Since the scale is an attitude scale, there is
no specific cut-off point. Scores closer to 15 indicate
a negative attitude towards cancer screening, while
scores closer to 75 indicate a positive attitude. When
calculating scores, 6 items with "reverse" statements
of negative meaning, which are indicated in Table
Variables Affecting the Scale Score
Mean "Attitude Scale for Cancer Screening" score of the
study group, which consisted of 167 males and 167 females
was 60.51±27.80. Median score was 51 (24-120).
Welch ANOVA test showed that as education level
increased, attitudes became more negative and scale
scores significantly decreased. Post-hoc Tamhane's T2
test determined that difference stemmed from elementary-
university, elementary-master/doctorate, middle
school-university, middle school-master/doctorate,
and high school-master/doctorate groups. Participants who smoked at any point in their life had significantly
higher scores. Variables that affected scale scores are
presented in Table
In the adaptation of Gözüm's breast cancer screening
scale, Cronbach's alpha is between 0.69 and 0.83 for
eight sub-dimensions.[
Content Validity
Construct Validity
It is stated in the literature that the explained variance
rate of scale should be 67% at least, but it is not
easy to achieve this ratio [
Relationship between Scale Score and Gender, Education
Level, and Cancer Presence Variables
In this study, it was observed that the scale score decreased
significantly as the education level increased. In
a study conducted with a group of 380 men and women
in Bingöl, there was no relationship between screening
and education level.[
Scale scores were found to be lower in participants
with cancer than participants without cancer. This
finding may be due to the belief that people with cancer
that they will not acquire cancer again. However, there is information in the literature that multiple cancers in
the same individual may occur simultaneously and in
different time periods.[
Content validity refers to the extent to which the scale
as a whole and each item of the scale serves the purpose
of the construct.[
Factor analysis is performed to determine the construct
validity of the scale and the smallest factor load
was 0.33 for the original form and the smallest factor
load was 0.71 for the short form. It is stated in the literature
that 0.30 should be accepted as the smallest factor
load in factor analysis. It is recommended to exclude
items below this value from the scale.[
Men scored higher than women. Women had a significantly
more negative attitude towards cancer screening
compared to men. Tekpınar et al. conducted a study in
Antalya and reported that a higher rate of women participated
in cancer screening compared to men.[
The study group, consisting of a total of 334 people, has a mean score of 60.51 ± 27.80 in a wide range from the minimum to the maximum score. Age, gender, education level, smoking status, and presence of cancer in the individual are determined to be variables related to scale score.
Widespread use of the scale in the field will have many benefits. Conducting informational studies on cancer screenings in areas with low attitude and breaking the negative attitude towards screenings as well as conducting new screening studies in collaboration with Provincial Health Directorates, District Health Directorates, and early cancer diagnosis and screening centers (KETEM in Turkey) in areas with positive attitude are among a few of the benefits of measuring attitude towards cancer screening with a standard assessment tool. Since this scale may be used to identify other variables related to scale scores, it is recommended that future studies should be conducted in different locations, in different samplings, or even as multi-center studies.
Peer-review: Externally peer-reviewed.
Conflict of Interest: The authors declared that they have no conflict interests.
Ethics Committee Approval: This study is a methodological type scale-development, validity, and reliability study. The study obtains ethical approval from Necmettin Erbakan University Meram Faculty of Medicine Ethics Committee (No: 2019/1733; Date: 15.02.2019).
Financial Support: The authors declared that this study received no fund.
Authorship contributions: Concept - E.N.Y.Ö., M.U.; Design - E.N.Y.Ö., M.U., T.K.Ş.; Supervision - M.U., T.K.Ş.; Funding - None; Materials - E.N.Y.Ö., M.U., T.K.Ş.; Data collection and/or processing - E.N.Y.Ö., M.U.; Data analysis and/or interpretation - E.N.Y.Ö., M.U., T.K.Ş.; Literature search - E.N.Y.Ö., M.U., T.K.Ş.; Writing - E.N.Y.Ö., M.U., T.K.Ş.; Critical review - M.U., T.K.Ş.