Prospective Teacher's Voice Questionnaire (PTVQ): Development of a Questionnaire to Assess Training-Related Voice Symptoms Among Prospective Teachers.

AIM: To develop and validate a self-administered population-specific survey, available in Spanish, Portuguese, and English, which investigates the prevalence of voice symptoms and perceptions of risk factors associated with training among prospective teachers. METHODS: The present study had three stages: the first stage included a literature review and content validation by experts that supported the survey development. From this phase, we defined five aspects of the Prospective Teacher's Voice Questionnaire (PTVQ): (1) target population, (2) research objectives, (3) questions to be included, (4) scales for the answers, and (5) relevance, comprehensiveness, clarityclarity, and understandability of the questions. This process was performed in parallel for the three languages (Spanish, Portuguese, and English). The second stage included pilot testing. This involved administering the first draft of the survey to a group of 120 students to evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of the survey instrument, identify any potential problems with the survey, and refine the instrument based on feedback from the pilot participants. The third stage includes the restructuring of the questionnaire's voice quality section to eliminate redundant questions. Through Principal Component Analysis, multicollinear variables were condensed, facilitating the removal of redundant items, and ensuring that the final questionnaire comprised only the most relevant and discriminative questions. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: The final version of the survey, available in Spanish, Portuguese, and English, consists of four sections with a total of 57 questions. The development of the PTVQ represents a significant step toward better understanding and addressing voice disorders among prospective teachers. Future research could further refine the questionnaire and explore its predictive validity in identifying individuals at risk of voice disorders early in their teaching careers. Additionally, interventions based on the findings from the PTVQ could be developed to support the voice health and well-being of prospective teachers, ultimately improving teaching quality and job satisfaction in educational settings.

Voice Therapy in the Context of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Guidelines for Clinical Practice.

INTRODUCTION: Since the beginning of the new pandemic, COVID-19 health services have had to face a new scenario. Voice therapy faces a double challenge, interventions using telepractice, and delivering rehabilitation services to a growing population of patients at risk of functional impairment related to the COVID-19 disease. Moreover, as COVID-19 is transmitted through droplets, it is critical to understand how to mitigate these risks during assessment and treatment. OBJECTIVE: To promote safety, and effective clinical practice to voice assessment and rehabilitation in the pandemic COVID-19 context for speech-language pathologists. METHODS: A group of 11 experts in voice and swallowing disorders from five different countries conducted a consensus recommendation following the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery rules building a clinical guide for speech-language pathologists during this pandemic context. RESULTS: The clinical guide provides 65 recommendations for clinicians in the management of voice disorders during the pandemic and includes advice from assessment, direct treatment, telepractice, and teamwork. The consensus was reached 95% for all topics. CONCLUSION: This guideline should be taken only as recommendation; each clinician must attempt to mitigate the risk of infection and achieve the best therapeutic results taking into account the patient's particular reality.

Cross-Cultural Adaptation, Validation, and Cutoff Values of the Chilean Version of the Voice Symptom Scale: VoiSS.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate psychometric properties of the Voice Symptom Scale (VoiSS) - Chilean Spanish version. STUDY DESIGN: Cross-sectional, nonrandomized, prospective study with controls. METHODS: The validation of the Chilean Spanish VoiSS version met the criteria of the Scientific Advisory Committee of the Medical Outcomes Trust: Cultural and linguistic adaptation, by translation into Chilean Spanish and back-translation. Validity, employed external criteria (excellent, very good, fair, and poor). Reliability was made by test-retest and responsiveness to treatment, the initial voice and after vocal treatment of 12 dysphonic patients were analyzed, by GRBAS. The Chilean Spanish adapted VoiSS protocol, Escala de Síntomas Vocales (ESV-CL), was applied to 205 subjects, 89 with dysphonia and 116 of them vocally healthy. A cutoff value for the total score was determined by the efficiency characteristics. RESULTS: The ESV-CL demonstrates high validity, reliability, and responsiveness. A cutoff score of 35.5 was determined by using the high sensitivity (90%) and specificity (75%) found in subjects with dysphonia compared to vocally healthy subjects. CONCLUSIONS: The results of the Chilean version of VoiSS, renamed the ESV-CL, revealed it to be culturally equivalent to the original version, and to be a valid, reliable, and responsive instrument for voice symptoms in the Chilean population. Chilean speech-language pathologists can benefit from this adapted protocol in clinical research and voice management.

Terapia de voz en el contexto de la pandemia covid-19; recomendaciones para la práctica clínica.

INTRODUCTION: Since the beginning of the new pandemic, COVID-19 health services have had to face a new scenario. Voice therapy faces a double challenge, interventions using telepractice, and delivering rehabilitation services to a growing population of patients at risk of functional impairment related to the COVID-19 disease. Moreover, as COVID-19 is transmitted through droplets, it is critical to understand how to mitigate these risks during assessment and treatment. OBJECTIVE: To promote safety, and effective clinical practice to voice assessment and rehabilitation in the pandemic COVID-19 context for speech-language pathologists. METHODS: A group of 11 experts in voice and swallowing disorders from 5 different countries conducted a consensus recommendation following the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery rules building a clinical guide for speech-language pathologists during this pandemic context. RESULTS: The clinical guide provides 79 recommendations for clinicians in the management of voice disorders during the pandemic and includes advice from assessment, direct treatment, telepractice, and teamwork. The consensus was reached 95% for all topics. CONCLUSION: This guideline should be taken only as recommendations; each clinician must attempt to mitigate the risk of infection and achieve the best therapeutic results taking into account the patient's particular reality.

Terapia Vocal No Contexto Da Pandemia Do Covid-19; Orientações Para A Prática Clínica.

INTRODUCTION: Since the beginning of the new pandemic, Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) health services have had to face a new scenario. Voice therapy faces a double challenge, interventions using telepractice, and delivering rehabilitation services to a growing population of patients at risk of functional impairment related to the COVID-19 disease. Moreover, as COVID-19 is transmitted through droplets, it is critical to understand how to mitigate these risks during assessment and treatment. OBJECTIVE: To promote safety, and effective clinical practice to voice assessment and rehabilitation in the pandemic COVID-19 context for speech-language pathologists. METHODS: A group of 11 experts in voice and swallowing disorders from five different countries conducted a consensus recommendation following the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery rules building a clinical guide for speech-language pathologists during this pandemic context. RESULT: The clinical guide provides 79 recommendations for clinicians in the management of voice disorders during the pandemic and includes advice from assessment, direct treatment, telepractice, and teamwork. The consensus was reached 95% for all topics. CONCLUSION: This guideline should be taken only as recommendation; each clinician must attempt to mitigate the risk of infection and achieve the best therapeutic results taking into account the patient's particular reality.

Cross-cultural adaptation of the Chilean version of the Voice Symptom Scale - VoiSS.

This research aims to accomplish the cross-cultural equivalence of the Chilean version of the VoiSS protocol through its cultural and linguistic adaptation. After the translation of the VoiSS protocol to Chilean Spanish by two bilingual speech therapists and its back translation to English, we compared the items of the original tool with the previous translated version. The existing discrepancies were modified by a consensus committee of five speech therapists and the translated version was entitled Escala de Sintomas Vocales - ESV, with 30 questions and five answers: "Never", "Occasionally", "Sometimes", "Most of the time", "Always". For cross-cultural equivalence, the protocol was applied to 15 individuals with vocal problems. In each question the option of "Not applicable" was added to the answer choices for identification of the questions not comprehended or not appropriate for the target population. Two individuals had difficulty answering two questions, which made it necessary to adapt the translation of only one of them. The modified ESV was applied to three individuals with vocal problems, and there were incomprehensible inappropriate questions for the Chilean culture. The ESV reflects the original English version, both in the number of questions and the limitations of the emotional and physical domains. There is now a cross-cultural equivalence of VoiSS in Chilean Spanish, titled ESV. The validation of the ESV for Chilean Spanish is ongoing. RESUMEN Este estudio tuvo como objetivo realizar la equivalencia cultural de la versión Chilena del protocolo Voice Symptom Scale - VoiSS por medio de su adaptación cultural y lingüística. Después de la traducción del VoiSS para el Español Chileno, por dos fonoaudiólogos bilingües, y de la retro traducción para el inglés, se realizó una comparación de los ítems del instrumento original con la versión traducida, surgiendo discrepancias; tales divergencias fueron resueltas por un comité compuesto por cinco fonoaudiólogos, que llegaron a un consenso de donde surgió la denominada Escala de Síntomas Vocales - ESV, compuesta de 30 preguntas y 5 respuestas: "Nunca", "Casi nunca", "A veces", "Casi siempre", "Siempre". Con el objetivo de lograr la equivalencia cultural, la ESV fue aplicada a 15 individuos con problemas vocales. A cada pregunta se le agregó la opción "No aplicable" en las elecciones de respuesta, con el fin de identificar preguntas incomprendidas o inapropiadas para la población en cuestión. Dos de los individuos tuvieron dificultades en el momento de contestar dos preguntas, haciéndose necesario adaptar solamente la traducción de una de ellas. La ESV modificada fue aplicada a tres personas más con problemas vocales, no encontrándose preguntas incomprendidas o inapropiadas para la cultura Chilena. La ESV refleja la versión original de inglés, tanto en la cantidad de preguntas como en la limitación de los dominios emocional y físico. Existe una equivalencia cultural del VoiSS para el Español Chileno, que recibe el nombre de ESV. La validación de la ESV para el Español Chileno está en proceso de conclusión.