• Renata Berberi Schulz, Paula Rossignoli, Cassyano J Correr, Fernando Fernández-Llimós, and Plínio Marco de Toni.
• Universidade Federal do Paraná, PR - Brazil.
• Arq. Bras. Cardiol. 2008 Feb 1; 90 (2): 127-31.

BackgroundThe assessment of quality of life has been considered an essential parameter in understanding the impact of arterial hypertension.ObjectiveTo translate into portuguese, cross-culturally adapt and validate the questionnaire specific for the assessment of quality of life known as "Mini Cuestionario de Calidad de Vida en Hipertensión Arterial" (MINICHAL).MethodsTwo independent translations of MINICHAL were made into brazilian portuguese. Later, these two translations were harmonized yielding a version that was back-translated into the source language. This version was revised by a committee of judges and the new version was tested in a pilot study. After the cross-cultural adaptation, the final version of the instrument was administered to a sample of 300 patients. The psychometric properties of the questionnaire such as reliability and construct validity were analyzed. The internal consistency of the instrument was measured by Cronbachs alpha coefficient.ResultsIn the brazilian version of MINICHAL, Cronbachs alpha coefficients of internal consistency reliability were 0.88 for the Mental Status domain and 0.85 for the Somatic Manifestations domain. As to content validity, the judges assessment attained a high level of agreement (75.44%). The factor analysis confirmed both domains, with differences in one item which was included in factor 2. The control group presented significant differences relative to hypertensive patients (t=4.86, gl=276.8, p< 0.001).ConclusionThe brazilian version of MINICHAL was successfully validated and represents a useful and reliable instrument for assessing the quality of life of brazilian hypertensive patients.

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