Reliability and Validity of the Turkish Version of the Screening Index for Voice Disorder (SIVD-TR)

We investigated the reliability and validity of the Turkish version of the Screening Index for Voice Disorder (SIVD-TR).

The original SIVD¹ translated into Turkish, followed by a translation back into English by a linguist. The text was finalized by an evaluation committee. This translated version was then administered to a cohort of 223 teachers in Ankara, Turkey, encompassing both those with and without voice disorders (WVD and WOVD). After a duration of 7-14days, a random selection of 53 teachers underwent the questionnaire once more. Statistical analyses were conducted to evaluate the reliability and validity of the index. Cronbach's alpha and test-retest methods were used to scale the reliability. A cutoff point was determined to decide the risk of a voice disorder, by using a Receiver Operating Characteristic curve. The validation process is concluded by computing sensitivity and specificity values, comparing mean scores between WVD and WOVD subjects, and finally examining correlations between SIVD-TR and the Turkish version of the Voice Handicap Index (VHI-10).

The internal consistency reliability exhibited high significance, with Cronbach's alpha measuring at 0.872. The test-retest correlation coefficient for the total scores was 0.80. The SIVD-TR consists of 12 symptoms, each accounting for 1 point on the scale. The identified cutoff for identifying the risk of a voice disorder is 4 (four) symptoms, with a sensitivity of 55.2%. A correlation of 69% was observed between SIVD-TR and VHI-TR. A significant association was noted between the risk of having a voice disorder and the actual presence of a voice disorder. Subjects with a voice disorder exhibited higher mean SIVD scores, providing further evidence of the questionnaire's discriminative validity.

The Turkish adaptation of SIVD demonstrated both reliability and validity, establishing itself as a robust tool for identifying voice disorders.