Construction and validation of an informative handbook on speech-language-hearing therapy in primary health care

Abstract

Purpose: to develop and validate an informative handbook on the role of speech-language-hearing therapy in primary health care. Methods: handbook development was preceded by a bibliographical survey for the theoretical framework. Validation consisted of two stages, with respectively 10 and eight speech-language-hearing judges in the first and second ones. An online questionnaire with 14 statements on content, language, illustrations, layout, and motivation assessed the material, scoring it with a 5-point Likert scale of agreement. It also had room for suggestions. The quantitative analysis was performed with two measures: Content Validity Index and Content Validity Coefficient. Values below 80% indicated the need for revision. The qualitative analysis was based on the judges' comments. Results: in the first stage, despite obtaining satisfactory indices, the qualitative analysis revealed aspects to be improved. The handbook’s “Content” and “Language” were adjusted, and it was resent to the judges for further review. In the second stage, the quantitative analysis revealed increased agreement rates for most of the investigated items. Conclusion: the validation stages had high approval rates, indicating that the handbook may be used as a guide for speech-language-hearing practice in primary health care.