Menopausal Voice-Related Work Limitation Scale (MenoVWL): Development and Validation

Area of Science:

• Otolaryngology
• Occupational Health
• Endocrinology

Background:

• Menopause is known to affect the vocal quality and performance of female professional voice users (FPVUs).
• Quantifying self-perceived voice-related work limitations during menopause is crucial for FPVUs' occupational health.
• Existing measures may not adequately capture the nuances of menopausal voice changes impacting professional duties.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a scale measuring self-perceived menopausal voice-related work limitations in FPVUs.
• Introduce the Menopausal Voice-Related Work Limitation Scale (MenoVWL) for clinical and research applications.
• Establish MenoVWL as a reliable tool for assessing voice function changes during menopause.

Main Methods:

• Scale items were derived from existing literature, validated scales, and interviews with post-menopausal FPVUs.
• A 16-item preliminary scale was refined by 15 voice experts, then administered online to 192 FPVUs.
• Factorial analysis validated the MenoVWL scale, with internal reliability assessed using Cronbach's alpha.

Main Results:

• The expert panel retained 13 items, achieving high Content Validity Index (.94) and Item Acceptance Ratio (86.25%).
• Exploratory and confirmatory factorial analyses confirmed a single-dimension scale with excellent internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = .9).
• Post-menopausal FPVUs reported significantly higher MenoVWL scores than pre-menopausal FPVUs (P = .005).

Conclusions:

• The Menopausal Voice-Related Work Limitation Scale (MenoVWL) is a validated, comprehensive measure of self-perceived voice limitations.
• MenoVWL demonstrates a clear factor structure and excellent internal consistency.
• This scale serves as a valuable tool for early detection of voice-related occupational challenges in FPVUs during menopause.