Adaptation and Validation of the Voice-Related Quality of Life Measure into Kannada

Psychometric Properties of the Vocal Fatigue Handicap Questionnaire in Kannada Among Teachers

BACKGROUND

As the literature review suggests, most professional voice users, such as teachers and singers, are prone to vocal abuse or misuse and frequently experience vocal fatigue. Therefore, validating the Vocal Fatigue Handicap Questionnaire among professional voice users with and without the symptoms of vocal fatigue might provide appropriate external validity of the questionnaire.

OBJECTIVE

The objective of the study was to validate the Kannada version of the Vocal Fatigue Handicap Questionnaire (VFHQ-K) among a cohort of Kannada-speaking primary and secondary school teachers with and without self-reported vocal fatigue symptoms.

STUDY DESIGN

This was a validation study.

METHOD

The study consisted of two groups of participants. Group 1 included 40 teachers with self-reported vocal fatigue symptoms, and Group 2 included 57 teachers without self-reported vocal fatigue symptoms. The VFHQ-K was administered to each participant after obtaining informed consent. The questionnaire was again readministered between 1 and 2 weeks to assess the test-retest reliability. All the responses that were obtained were tabulated for analysis.

RESULTS

The VFHQ-K demonstrated good test-retest reliability, internal consistency, and acceptable discriminant validity. The cutoff value of VFHQ-K obtained in the present study between the teachers with and without self-reported symptoms of vocal fatigue was much less than the cutoff values reported by the earlier version of VFHQ-K.

CONCLUSION

The VFHQ-K can be a helpful tool in the early identification of teachers with vocal fatigue and in improving the vocal health of professional voice users.

Cross-Linguistic Adaptation of Vocal Fatigue Handicap Questionnaire into Kannada (VFHQ-K)

BACKGROUND

It is often considered appropriate to assess vocal fatigue using a self-reported tool or a subjective measure, as vocal fatigue is primarily described through self-reported symptoms. The vocal fatigue handicap questionnaire (VFHQ) is a self-rated questionnaire that addresses the concern of vocal fatigue in persons with voice disorders. Adapting and validating this questionnaire into the Kannada language can be helpful in assessing the physical, emotional, and functional effects of vocal fatigue among Kannada-speaking individuals.

OBJECTIVE

Adaptation and Validation of the VFHQ into the Kannada language.

STUDY DESIGN

A validation study.

METHOD

Initially, the VFHQ was translated into Kannada. The translated questionnaire was given to two SLPs and two Linguists for content validation and to assess the cultural and linguistic equivalency. 65 participants (34 males and 31 females) were diagnosed with voice disorders, and 65 participants who were age and gender-matched and had healthy voices were administered the Kannada version of VFHQ (VFHQ-K).

RESULTS

The results showed that the VFHQ-K had good test-retest reliability, internal consistency, and known groups' discriminative validity. The cut-off point of the VFHQ-K was equal to 26.50, indicating that the VFHQ-K had acceptable discrimination between the patients with and without dysphonia.

CONCLUSION

VFHQ-K is a valid, reliable, and sensitive questionnaire to assess the emotional, physical, and functional effects of vocal fatigue in the Kannada-speaking population.

Adaptation and Validation of the Voice Symptom Scale into Kannada (VoiSS-K)

BACKGROUND

The Voice Symptom Scale (VoiSS) is a self-assessment tool that assesses vocal symptoms and measures the effect of dysphonia. Adapting VoiSS into Kannada can be beneficial in evaluating dysphonia-related symptoms, especially in the Kannada-speaking population.

OBJECTIVES

To adapt the VoiSS into Kannada and to assess the reliability, validity, and cut-off values of the VoiSS Kannada version (VoiSS-K).

STUDY DESIGN

The study used a prospective nonrandomized standard group comparison.

METHODS

Initially, the VoiSS was translated into Kannada. The VoiSS-K was administered to 76 participants (34 females and 42 males) with a mean age of 46.4 ± 14.5 years having voice disorders. The VoiSS-K was also administered to 76 respondents having clinically normal voice who were age and gender-matched to the participants with voice disorders.

RESULTS

Cronbach's alpha was utilized to evaluate the internal consistency, and the intraclass correlation coefficient to evaluate the test-retest reliability. The findings indicated that the VoiSS-K had excellent test-retest reliability and internal consistency. The study group participants had significantly higher VoiSS-K scores than the control group participants. Thus, the outcomes indicated that the VoiSS-K had good discriminative validity. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis was conducted, and the cut-off score of VoiSS-K was 40.50.

CONCLUSION

As the VoiSS-K is a rigorous, robust, and detailed self-assessment questionnaire, it can be used as a clinically sensitive tool to evaluate voice symptoms in Kannada-speaking individuals.