Chayadevie Nanjundeswaran1, Barbara H Jacobson2, Jackie Gartner-Schmidt3, Katherine Verdolini Abbott4. 1. Department of Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology, East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, Tennessee. Electronic address: nanjundeswar@etsu.edu. 2. Department of Hearing & Speech Sciences, Vanderbilt Bill Wilkerson Center, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee. 3. University of Pittsburgh Voice Center, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 4. University of Pittsburgh Voice Center, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Department of Communication Science and Disorders, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Department of Otolaryngology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition, Carnegie Mellon University and University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To develop a psychometrically sound self-report questionnaire, the Vocal Fatigue Index (VFI), to help identify individuals with vocal fatigue (VF) and characterize their complaints. STUDY DESIGN: Descriptive research-scale development. METHODS: Four laryngologists and six speech-language pathologists specialized in voice created a beta version of the VFI (version 1), an index of 21 statements they considered to reflect VF. Two hundred patients presenting to two different clinics completed the VFI-1. Two items from VFI-1 were excluded because of poor item-to-total correlations. The final VFI of 19 items (version 2), completed by 105 patients with voice complaints and 70 vocally healthy individuals, was assessed for its psychometric properties. RESULTS: Test-retest reliability for the final VFI was generally strong, as was sensitivity and specificity using the classification table under logistic regression for correctly distinguishing individuals with and without VF. Moreover, factor analysis indicated that VF may be characterized by three factors: (1) factor 1, related to tiredness of voice and voice avoidance, (2) factor 2, related to physical discomfort associated with voicing, and (3) factor 3, related to improvement of symptoms with rest. CONCLUSION: The VFI is a standardized tool that can identify individuals with probable VF with good reliability, validity, sensitivity, and specificity.
OBJECTIVE: To develop a psychometrically sound self-report questionnaire, the Vocal Fatigue Index (VFI), to help identify individuals with vocal fatigue (VF) and characterize their complaints. STUDY DESIGN: Descriptive research-scale development. METHODS: Four laryngologists and six speech-language pathologists specialized in voice created a beta version of the VFI (version 1), an index of 21 statements they considered to reflect VF. Two hundred patients presenting to two different clinics completed the VFI-1. Two items from VFI-1 were excluded because of poor item-to-total correlations. The final VFI of 19 items (version 2), completed by 105 patients with voice complaints and 70 vocally healthy individuals, was assessed for its psychometric properties. RESULTS: Test-retest reliability for the final VFI was generally strong, as was sensitivity and specificity using the classification table under logistic regression for correctly distinguishing individuals with and without VF. Moreover, factor analysis indicated that VF may be characterized by three factors: (1) factor 1, related to tiredness of voice and voice avoidance, (2) factor 2, related to physical discomfort associated with voicing, and (3) factor 3, related to improvement of symptoms with rest. CONCLUSION: The VFI is a standardized tool that can identify individuals with probable VF with good reliability, validity, sensitivity, and specificity.
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