Voice-Related Quality of Life Outcomes from Pneumatic Artificial Laryngeal and Esophageal Speakers

Correlations among the Mandarin Voice Handicap Index, its shortened version, and the Voice-Related Quality of Life Measure for laryngectomees

“…Strong test-retest reliability for the total and domain scores was found. 21,22 Close examination of the degree to which the Mandarin longform and short-form VHI and the V-RQOL are comparable for alaryngeal Mandarin speakers revealed a very high correlation between the Mandarin long-form and short-form VHI, both overall and in all their domains (Table 5; Fig. 1).…”

“…Administering broad-based quality-of-life questionnaires to Mandarin-speaking alaryngeal patients is important, insofar as the impact of undergoing a total laryngectomy on the life of an individual does not necessarily have a direct relationship with the magnitude of the voice-related problems she/he experiences. 1,3,21,22 Prior research has used the VHI, VHI-10, or V-RQOL for this purpose. To align with those VHI, VHI-10, and V-RQOL studies, this one evaluated the validity of the physical, functional, and emotional aspects of the Mandarin long-form VHI and Mandarin short-form VHI, and the validity of the social-emotional and physical functioning aspects of the Mandarin V-RQOL for alaryngeal patients, as well as differences between PAL and ES patients’ perceived voice handicaps.…”

“…During that 4-year time frame, data from 101 of the participants who filled out the VHI and from 104 who filled out the V-RQOL were published separately. 21,22 The current study continued collecting data derived from both those instruments until the number of participants reached 152.…”

“…7 In the absence of such alternatives, the VHI, VHI-10, and V-RQOL—all of which are voice-related measures—are often adopted to assess the impact of voice problems on alaryngeal patients. 10–23…”

“…7 In the absence of such alternatives, the VHI, VHI-10, and V-RQOL-all of which are voice-related measures-are often adopted to assess the impact of voice problems on alaryngeal patients. [10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23] Understanding the relationship between these voice-related instruments will facilitate clinicians' assessments of the impact of laryngectomies on patients' quality of life. Prior statistical results have indicated a strong correlation between scores on the VHI and V-RQOL in groups of 65, 132, and 150 patients with voice disorders, [24][25][26] as well as in a group of 54 alaryngeal patients using valved speech.…”