Measuring the psychosocial burden in women with low-grade abnormal cervical cytology in the TOMBOLA trial: psychometric properties of the Process and Outcome Specific Measure (POSM)

BACKGROUND: There is a need for an instrument to measure the psychosocial burden of receiving an abnormal cervical cytology result which can be used regardless of the clinical management women receive. METHODS: 3331 women completed the POSM as part of baseline psychosocial assessment in a trial of management of low grade cervical cytological abnormalities. Factor analysis and reliability assessment of the POSM were conducted. RESULTS: Two factors were extracted from the POSM: Factor 1, containing items related to worry; and Factor 2 containing items relating to satisfaction with information and support received and change in the way women felt about themselves. Factor 1 had good reliability (Cronbach’s alpha 0.769), however reliability of the Factor 2 was poorer (0.482). Data collected at four subsequent time points demonstrated that the factor structure was stable over time. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates the presence and reliability of a scale measuring worries within the POSM. This analysis will inform its future use in this population and in other related contexts. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12955-014-0154-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.