title: An investigation of the Voice Handicap Index with speakers of Portuguese: preliminary data.
abstract: Although the Voice Handicap Index (VHI) has been recognized as a useful tool for quantifying American English speakers' perceived consequences of voice disorder, it has not yet been widely applied in the clinic to study dysphonic patient populations, or tested with a normally speaking population. The purpose of this investigation was to obtain information about the VHI in a group of Portuguese speakers with voice complaints compared with an age- and gender-matched group of speakers without voice complaints. The results demonstrate that speakers with voice complaints have overall VHI total scores significantly higher than speakers without voice complaints (p < 0.001). This is also true for all VHI subscores in the emotional (p < 0.001), functional (p < 0.05), and physical (p < 0.001) domains. So, the assumption that a group with voice complaints has higher voice handicap impact than the matched control comparison group is justified for Portuguese speakers.
authors.affiliation: Escola Superior de Saúde do Alcoitão, Portugal. isabelguim@netcabo.pt
authors.forename: Isabel
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Guimarães
authors.forename: Evelyn
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Abberton
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007802:Language; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014832:Voice Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis*