Med. Pr. 2007;58(6):501-509 |
APPLICABILITY OF VOICE HANDICAP INDEX TO THE EVALUATION OF VOICE THERAPY EFFECTIVENESS IN TEACHERS |
ZASTOSOWANIE WSKAŹNIKA NIEPEŁNOSPRAWNOŚCI GŁOSOWEJ (VOICE HANDICAP INDEX - VHI) W OCENIE EFEKTYWNOŚCI TERAPII GŁOSU U NAUCZYCIEL |
Ewa Niebudek-Bogusz, Anna Kuzańska, Piotr Błoch, Maja Domańska, Ewelina Woźnicka, Piotr Politański, Mariola Śliwińska-Kowalska |
Abstract
Background: The
aim of this study was to assess the applicability of Voice Handicap Index (VHI)
to the evaluation of effectiveness of functional voice disorders treatment in
teachers. Material and Methods: The subjects were 45 female
teachers with functional dysphonia who evaluated their voice problems according
to the subjective VHI scale before and after phoniatric management.
Group I (29 patients) were subjected to vocal training, whereas group
II (16 patients) received only voice hygiene instructions. Results: The results demonstrated that differences in the mean VHI
score before and after phoniatric treatment were significantly higher in group
1 than in group II (p < 0.05). Moreover, the improvement observed
in group I applied to each of VHI subscales: functional, emotional and
physical, while in group II it applied only to physical subscale. Conclusions: This study confirmed that the VHI test can be a useful method
for monitoring phoniatric management efficacy in teacher's dysphonia. Med Pr
2007;58(6):501-509
Key words
Voice Handicap Index, functional dysphonia in teachers, vocal training