title: Vocal Fatigue Index (VFI): Development and Validation.
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.
  
  
  METHODS
  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.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The VFI is a standardized tool that can identify individuals with probable VF with good reliability, validity, sensitivity, and specificity.
authors: Department of Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology, East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, Tennessee. Electronic address: nanjundeswar@etsu.edu.
authors: Chayadevie
authors: C
authors: Nanjundeswaran
authors: Department of Hearing & Speech Sciences, Vanderbilt Bill Wilkerson Center, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee.
authors: Barbara H
authors: BH
authors: Jacobson
authors: University of Pittsburgh Voice Center, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
authors: Jackie
authors: J
authors: Gartner-Schmidt
authors: 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.
authors: Katherine
authors: K
authors: Verdolini Abbott
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011594:Psychometrics; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D014832:Voice Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis*
keywords: Questionnaire; Reliability; Sensitivity; Specificity; Validity; Vocal fatigue