Validation of the English and Spanish Mammography Beliefs and Attitudes Questionnaire.

Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths among Hispanic women in the United States. Unfortunately Hispanic women exhibit poor mammography screening participation, are diagnosed at later stages of the disease, and have lower survival rates than non-Hispanic white women. Several cultural and psycho-social factors have been found to influence mammography screening participation among Hispanic women. We will begin by presenting the theoretical framework that grounded this research program to develop an instrument to assess factors contributing to poor mammography participation among Hispanic women. We will also summarize the early stages in the development of the English and Spanish Mammography Beliefs and Attitudes Questionnaire (MBAQ and SMBAQ) for use with low-health-literacy Mexican-American women. Next we will describe the initial psychometric testing of the MBAQ/SMBAQ, after which we will present the psychometric testing of the SMBAQ with low-health-literacy women. This will be followed by a discussion of the modification of the MBAQ and SMBAQ subscales. We'll conclude with a discussion of the instruments and share our assessment regarding the limitations of this research program, where the program stands to date, and the implications for practice and future research.

Development of the mammography beliefs and attitudes questionnaire for low-health-literacy Mexican-American women.

Low-income, low-health-literacy Mexican-American women exhibit poor mammography screening participation and are being diagnosed at later stages of breast cancer than are non-Hispanic white women. No instrument has been available to measure the impact of cultural and psycho-social factors on the intent to seek mammography screening participation in this population. In this article the author describes the development process of the English Mammography Beliefs and Attitudes Questionnaire (MBAQ) and the Spanish Mammography Beliefs and Attitudes Questionnaire (SMBAQ). The Theory of Planned Behavior is the theoretical framework underlying these instruments designed to measure intent to seek mammography screening in low-health-literacy Mexican-American women. The process of developing the MBAQ utilized input from low-health-literacy Mexican-American women and an expert committee. The MBAQ was translated into Spanish and assessed for content validity and reading level. In the discussion, the author explains why the MBAQ and SMBAQ are appropriate tools for use with low-health-literacy Mexican-American women to measure their intentions to seek mammography screening. Limitations of the study and implications for practice and research are presented.

Comparison of factors affecting repeat mammography screening of low-income Mexican American women.

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES: To examine the level of cancer fatalism and other sociocognitive behavioral determinants in Mexican American women categorized as regular mammography screeners and infrequent mammography screeners. DESIGN: Cross-sectional, descriptive. SETTING: A southwestern American city on the U. S.-Mexico border. SAMPLE: 68 Mexican American women with low incomes recruited from a cancer consortium database. METHODS: Women who had been identified as regular or infrequent screeners based on screening history were contacted and invited to participate in a telephone survey. Participation consisted of completing the Powe Fatalism Inventory (PFI) and the Mammography Beliefs and Attitudes Questionnaire (MBAQ) in English or Spanish. MAIN RESEARCH VARIABLES: Total scores on the PFI and total scores on each of the MBAQ subscales. FINDINGS: Differences between the two groups were noted in cancer fatalism, perceived control over their participation in screening activities, and family history of cancer. No significant differences were noted in demographic characteristics. CONCLUSIONS: Cancer fatalism, generally believed to be highly related to socioeconomic status, may be mediated by women's perceptions of control over screening behavior or choices and by family history of cancer. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING: Further research is needed to explore cancer fatalism among Hispanic women, including other factors that can affect the level of cancer fatalism and perceived control over mammography screening participation. With this knowledge, culturally sensitive interventions may be developed to increase self-efficacy and facilitate perceived control.