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Development of a tool to assess beliefs about mythical causes of cancer: the Cancer Awareness Measure Mythical Causes Scale

Smith, S; Beard, EV; McGowan, J; Fox, E; Cook, C; Pal, R; Waller, J; (2018) Development of a tool to assess beliefs about mythical causes of cancer: the Cancer Awareness Measure Mythical Causes Scale. BMJ Open , 8 , Article e022825. 10.1136/bmjopen-2018-022825. Green open access

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Abstract

OBJECTIVE: We aimed to develop a reliable and valid measure to assess public beliefs in mythical causes of cancer: the Cancer Awareness Measure - MYthical Causes Scale (CAM-MYCS). // DESIGN AND SETTING: Cancer myth items were generated from a literature review, social media and interviews (n=16). The CAM-MYCS was prepared by reducing items using a) an online sample (n=527) with exploratory factor analysis and b) cancer experts with DELPHI methodology (n=13). To assess test-retest reliability and sensitivity to change, students (n=91) completed the CAM-MYCS at baseline and 1-week after exposure to information on lifestyle-related cancer causes or control information. Construct validity was tested by comparing CAM-MYCS scores between cancer experts (n=25) and students (n=91). Factor structure and internal reliability were investigated in a national sample (n=1993). // RESULTS: Out of 42 items generated, 12 were retained based on factor loadings, prevalence of endorsement, and expert consensus. CAM-MYCS scores improved (fewer myths endorsed) among students exposed to information on cancer causes compared with the control group (p<0.001) and showed high test–retest reliability (r=0.90, p<0.001). Cancer experts reported higher CAM-MYCS scores (fewer myths endorsed) than students (p<0.001). The factor structure of the CAM-MYCS was confirmed in the national sample and internal reliability was high (α=0.86). Inclusion of the CAMMYCS alongside items assessing knowledge of actual cancer causes did not affect responses. // CONCLUSIONS: The CAM-MYCS tool is a reliable and valid tool assessing beliefs in mythical causes of cancer, and it can be used alongside items assessing known causes of cancer.

Type: Article
Title: Development of a tool to assess beliefs about mythical causes of cancer: the Cancer Awareness Measure Mythical Causes Scale
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2018-022825
Publisher version: http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2018-022825
Language: English
Additional information: This is an open access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Unported (CC BY 4.0) license, which permits others to copy, redistribute, remix, transform and build upon this work for any purpose, provided the original work is properly cited, a link to the licence is given, and indication of whether changes were made. See: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
Keywords: cancer; cancer beliefs; measurement; cancer myths
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > Div of Psychology and Lang Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > Div of Psychology and Lang Sciences > Experimental Psychology
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > Institute of Epidemiology and Health
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > Institute of Epidemiology and Health > Behavioural Science and Health
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > Institute of Epidemiology and Health > Epidemiology and Public Health
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10059116
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