title: [Reliability and validity of the Turkish version of the Voice Handicap Index].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  We investigated the reliability and validity of the Turkish version of the Voice Handicap Index (VHI), and developed a short VHI form that would be more practical.
  
  
  METHODS
  The original VHI was translated to Turkish by 10 otolaryngologists, then it was translated back to English by a linguist, and the final text was prepared by the evaluation committee composed of three members. The translated version was administered to a group of 220 subjects twice with 7-14 days intervals. Based on the responses, statistical analyses were performed to assess its reliability and validity.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Internal consistency reliability was found to be highly significant (Cronbach's alpha=0.97). Test-retest correlation coefficient was 0.93 for the total score. Factor analysis yielded three factors explaining 64.8% of the total variance. The corrected item-total correlation coefficients ranged from 0.50 to 0.80. The 10 most robust VHI items, namely, E7, E9, P10, F11, F12, E15, F16, P18, P20 and E29, were selected using the corrected item-total correlation coefficients, and a shortened form of the Turkish VHI was developed.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  As some items are thought to be contentious in the Turkish VHI, the short form of the Turkish VHI is more suitable for use in clinics.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, Medicine Faculty of Kahramanmaraş Sütçü Imam University, Kahramanmaraş, Turkey. makilic@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Mehmet Akif
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Kiliç
authors.forename: Erdoğan
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Okur
authors.forename: Ilhami
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Yildirim
authors.forename: Fatih
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Oğüt
authors.forename: Ilter
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Denizoğlu
authors.forename: Ahmet
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kizilay
authors.forename: Haldun
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Oğuz
authors.forename: Tolga
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kandoğan
authors.forename: Müzeyyen
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Doğan
authors.forename: Ozgür
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Akdoğan
authors.forename: Nural
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Bekiroğlu
authors.forename: Hüseyin
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Oztarakçi
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D007828:Laryngoscopy; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014421:Turkey; D014831:Voice; D014832:Voice Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis*; D014833:Voice Quality