Development of an Instrument based on the Protection Motivation Theory to Measure Factors Influencing Women's Intention to First Pap Test Practice

• Published in: Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention : APJCP Vol. 15; no. 3; pp. 1227 - 1232
• Main Authors: Hassani, Laleh, Dehdari, Tahereh, Hajizadeh, Ebrahim, Shojaeizadeh, Davoud, Abedini, Mehrandokht, Nedjat, Saharnaz
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Korean
• Published: 2014
• Subjects: Iran; Pap smear; measurement tool; Protection motivation theory; intention
• ISSN: 1513-7368; 2476-762X

Background: Given that there are many Iranian women who have never had a Pap smear, this study was designed to develop and validate a measurement tool based on the Protection Motivation Theory to assess factors influencing the Iranian women's intention to perform first Pap testing. Materials and Methods: In this psychometric research, to determine the Content Validity Index (CVI) and the Content Validity Ratio (CVR), a panel of experts (n=10) reviewed scale items. Reliability was estimated through the Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (n=30) and internal consistency (n=240). Also, factor analysis (exploratory and conformity) was performed on the data of the sample women who had never had a Pap smear test (n=240). Results: A 26-item questionnaire was developed. The CVI and CVR scores of the scale were 0.89 and 0.90, respectively. Exploratory factor analysis loaded a 26-item with seven factors questionnaire (perceived vulnerability and severity, fear, response costs, response efficacy, self-efficacy, and protection motivation (or intention)) that jointly accounted for 72.76% of the observed variance. Confirmatory factor analysis indicated a good fit for the data. Internal consistency (range 0.70-0.93) and test-retest reliability (range 0.72-0.96) of sub-scales were acceptable. Conclusions: This study showed that the designed instrument was a valid and reliable tool for measuring the factors influencing the women's intention to perform their first Pap testing.