Validity of a questionnaire on self-efficacy for Pap test adherence screening.

Introduction: Self-efficacy has been related to different health preventive behaviors, included adherence to the Papanicolaou test-also called Pap smear or Pap test. The aim of this study is to test construct and criterion validity and reliability of a questionnaire on self-efficacy and the Pap test in Chilean women.

Method: This study was carried out on a sample of 969 women of ages from 25 to 64, who are users of the public health care system in Santiago, Chile. The validity of the Self-Efficacy Scale for the Pap Smear Screening Participation (SES-PSSP) questionnaire was done by confirmatory factor analysis, external criteria by t-test, and reliability by Cronbach's alpha.

Results: Three models were tested, obtaining a questionnaire with 20 items and 2 dimensions. The criteria validity was confirmed by adherence to the Pap test. The final questionnaire has a reliability of 0.95, measured by Cronbach´s alpha.

Conclusion: A valid and reliable questionnaire to measure self-efficacy in relation to the Pap test is a relevant contribution in cervical cancer prevention, especially related to interventions focused on increasing adherence.