Title: Health Beliefs on the Behavioral Adoption of Mammography Screening: A Path Analytic Model

Abstract:

Despite the effectiveness of mammography for early breast cancer detection, its’ utilization among Malaysian women remains low. This is possibly due to mammography screening being still opportunistic in nature. Conceptualizing screening behavior intentions utilizing Health Belief Model (HBM) is appropriate in understanding behavioral changes. As such, the study utilized HBM constructs in predicting the variance in adaptive behavior of mammography while controlling for moderating effects of knowledge and socio-demographic factors and mediating effects of self-efficacy using structural modelling fit analysis. A multi-stage stratified random sampling method was utilized to select the polyclinics in Kuantan, Pahang. Five hundred and twenty Malaysian women aged between 35 and 70 years were selected randomly using sample size calculation at 5% type 1 error, p < 0.05, absolute error at 2%. Sets of the copyrighted, validated questionnaire were used to obtain the data. Structural equation modelling using Mplus was used to test the model. Indirect effects were included iteratively to the path model for evaluating moderating and mediating effects significance. All health beliefs were found to significantly influence the behavioral adoption of mammography screening. Socio-demographic factor (married women) were found to moderate significantly the relationship between perceived susceptibility and behavioral adoption of mammography screening. Further, knowledge and “married women” were found to significantly affect self-efficacy. Additionally, perceived severity, motivator factors and perceived benefits were found to significantly influence self-efficacy and that self-efficacy influence the behavioral adoption of mammography screening. The model can be used as an interventional tool in designing mammography promotional and educational programs to encourage women in Kuantan, Pahang to adopt mammography screening for early breast cancer detection. Additionally, the copyrighted, validated questionnaire can be used throughout the world for early breast cancer detection studies and the development of similar models to reduce breast cancer mortality

Biography:

Soo-Foon Moey has worked as a radiographer under the Ministry of Health, Malaysia for 19 years after obtaining the Diploma of Radiography, UK. She specializes in Mammography and Computed Tomography (CT). She furthered her studies in Australia and graduated with a BSc. (Medical Imaging) and Postgraduate Diploma (Med. Imaging Edu.). She started her teaching career in 1997 and has risen from a tutor to the director of the Allied Health Science College, Kuching, Sarawak. She obtained her MSc. (Medical Imaging) from University Malaya and her Ph.D. in Education (Administration & Management) from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Malaysia. She is currently an Assistant Professor with IIUM, Kuantan, Pahang. She has published more than 20 papers mainly in the indexed journals. She is also an active reviewer for IJMP, Journal of Nursing Management, Wiley; BMC Geriatrics, Springer and IMJM, IIUM. She is actively involved in research of which the current article is part of the project "Early Breast Cancer Detection: The Development of a Model in Promoting the Behavior of Women towards Breast Self-Examination and Mammogram" financed by the Fundamental Research Grant, Ministry of Higher Education, Malaysia. She has presented numerous papers in Medical Imaging and leadership styles and job satisfaction at local and international conferences.