title: Initial validation of the Mini-Mental Adjustment to Cancer (Mini-MAC) scale: study of Portuguese end-of-life cancer patients.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The Mini-Mental Adjustment to Cancer Scale (Mini-MAC) is a 29-item instrument designed to evaluate the responses developed by cancer patients during their mental adjustment to diagnosis and treatment.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  This study aims to validate the Mini-Mental Adjustment to Cancer Scale (Mini-MAC) translated and adapted to the Portuguese language and culture, in end-of-life cancer patients receiving palliative care.
  
  
  METHODS
  The instrument was administered to 346 Portuguese end-of-life cancer patients, receiving care through outpatient visits or admitted into palliative care units, without cognitive symptoms and with symptoms under control. A cross-sectional validation study using orthogonal rotation through the varimax method followed by convergent and discriminant validity.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The analysis of the main components confirms the existence of five factors, demonstrating the validity of the construct, with good internal consistency in the subscales and Cronbach's alpha values between 0.78 and 0.93. Good test-retest reliability was also found, and r values for subscales ranged from 0.62 to 0.99.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The instrument proved to be a reliable, valid and sensitive measure in the study of mental adjustment of Portuguese end-of-life patients with cancer receiving palliative care.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Nurses can use the Mini-MAC Scale in research and clinical practice in order to evaluate the mental adjustment of Portuguese end-of-life cancer patients receiving palliative care.
authors.affiliation: Escola Superior de Enfermagem do Porto (Nursing College of Porto) - Escola Superior de Enfermagem do Porto, Rua Dr. António Bernardino de Almeida, 4200-072 Porto, Portugal. Electronic address: fpinto@esenf.pt.
authors.forename: Filomena Moreira Pinto
authors.initials: FM
authors.lastname: Pereira
authors.affiliation: Escola Superior de Enfermagem do Porto (Nursing College of Porto) - Escola Superior de Enfermagem do Porto, Rua Dr. António Bernardino de Almeida, 4200-072 Porto, Portugal. Electronic address: celiasantos@esenf.pt.
authors.forename: Célia Samarina Vilaça de Brito
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Santos
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001293:Attitude to Death; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000523:psychology*; D009859:Oncology Nursing / Q000379:methods; D011174:Portugal; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000295:instrumentation*; D011788:Quality of Life; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013727:Terminal Care / Q000523:psychology*; D019452:Terminally Ill / Q000523:psychology*; D054928:Validation Studies as Topic; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: End-of-life cancer patients; Mental adjustment; Mini-MAC scale; Oncology; Palliative care; Validation