Health belief model and attendance at screenings for gastric cancer in a population in Miyagi, Japan

The relationship between frequency of attendance at the screening programs for gastric cancer and Health Belief Model (HBM) variables was studied in a convenient sample (n = 337) of residents in a town of Miyagi prefecture, Japan. Frequency of attendance at the screening within the past five years was determined from records of the Miyagi Cancer Society, which provided an annual screening program for gastric cancer for study subjects. Using a self-administered questionnaire with 12 questions, with responses measured on a 5-point Likert scale, the five variables of HBM (health motivation, perceived susceptibility and seriousness of gastric cancer, perceived benefit and barriers to participating in the screening) were constructed. Health motivation (r = 0.14, p < 0.01), susceptibility (r = 0.16, p < 0.01), and benefit (r = 0.20, p < 0.001) correlated positively with frequency of attendance at the screening, whereas seriousness (r = -0.20, p < 0.001) and barriers (r = -0.40, p < 0.001) correlated negatively. Multiple regression analysis, which included five variables of HBM, three modifying variables (sex, age, family history of gastric cancer), and four personality scales measured by the short-scale Eysenck Personality Questionnaire-Revised, demonstrated that barriers to participating in the screening (beta = 0.35, p < 0.001) and family history of gastric cancer (beta = 0.17, p < 0.01) were significantly associated with frequency (R = 0.4994, F = 6.203, p < 0.001). Path analysis was conducted to explore the relationship between frequency, HBM, personality, and other modifying variables.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)