Cross-Cultural Adaption and Translation of the Voice Handicap Index into Norwegian

Abstract

Aims: To examine the psychometric properties of a Norwegian translation of the Voice Handicap Index (VHI) and test its ability to discriminate between patients and controls. Abbreviated versions of VHI were also studied. Method: Following standard translation, 126 healthy subjects and 126 patients with laryngeal disease answered the Norwegian translation of the VHI-30 [hereafter, VHI-30(N)]. Results: The VHI(N) showed a high Cronbach α. Control/patient scores were as follows: Emotional (E): 0.88/0.90; Functional (F): 0.77/0.91; Physical (P): 0.86/0.83, and total: 0.93/0.94.One three-level question where the subjects rated the level of voice disease correlated well with the VHI(N) scores. The 90th (95th) percentile of the control score was 18 (33), whereas the mean ± SEM patient score was 52.3 ± 2.04 of a maximum of 120 points. Differences between patient and control groups were significant for all questions on the VHI(N). Receiver operating characteristic analyses demonstrate that the F, P, E and total VHI scores discriminated very well between patients and controls. This was also the case when the abbreviated scales were analyzed as published by Nawka et al. [Folia Phoniatr Logop 2009;61:37–48] and Rosen et al. [Laryngoscope 2004;114:1549–1556]. Conclusion: This Norwegian version of the VHI questionnaire seems to be psychometrically sound.

The Norwegian Voice Handicap Index (VHI-N) patient scores are dependent on voice-related disease group

“…They found the US VHI and the various European translations appeared equivalent [13]. A Norwegian translation has also recently been published [14] and this has been employed in the present investigation.…”

“…From these institutions, the controls were also included. This series results have previously been used to study the psychometrics of the Norwegian translation of the VHI [14]. The cohort II patients were recruited from Haukeland University Hospital (HUH) in Bergen, Norway.…”

“…The VHI has excellent discriminative power to distinguish between healthy subjects and larynx-diseased patients [14]. One major question is, however, to what extent VHI scores differ between various laryngological diseases.…”

Tradução e adaptação transcultural do <i>Protocolo de avaliação de voz do deficiente auditivo (PAV-DA)</i> para a língua inglesa

“…O questionário foi retrotraduzido por uma pessoa que não havia participado das etapas anteriores. A versão final foi aplicada a um grupo controle composto de 126 indivíduos com voz saudável (KARLSEN et al, 2012).…”

“…Para a etapa de tradução, não existe a predominância de um único profissional, mas sim uma diversidade de fonoaudiólogos, indivíduos bilíngues, tradutores profissionais, médicos, professores de inglês, foniatras e intérpretes (AMIR et al, 2006;KARLSEN et al, 2012;PARK, 2013). Para a retrotradução, há a predominância de tradutores profissionais, e para a composição da banca de especialistas, a maior ocorrência é de fonoaudiólogos.…”