Short, self-report voice symptom scales: psychometric characteristics of the Voice Handicap Index-10 and the Vocal Performance Questionnaire

OBJECTIVE. Short, self-report symptom questionnaires are useful in routine clinical situations for assessing the progress of disorders and the influence of interventions. The Voice Handicap Index-10 (VHI-10) and Vocal Performance Questionnaire (VPQ) are brief self-reported assessments of voice pathology, apparently useful in the general voice clinic population. Little is known of the structure or internal consistency of either tool, nor whether they correlate. This study carried out a substantial, systematic evaluation of their performance in the Laryngology office setting. STUDY DESIGN AND SETTING: 330 adult (222 women, 108 men) voice clinic attenders completed the VHI and the VPQ. RESULTS: The VHI-10 and VPQ each had a large, single principal component, high internal consistency, and were highly correlated (dis-attenuated r = 0.91). CONCLUSION: The VHI-10 and the VPQ are similar, short, convenient, internally-consistent, unidimensional tools. SIGNIFICANCE: The total VHI-10 or VPQ score is a good overall indicator of the severity of voice disorders.