Self-Evaluation of Communication Experiences after Laryngectomy (SECEL) questionnaire has been developed, with the aim of evaluating rehabilitation needs and the psychosocial care for patients with laryngeal cancer. This short but comprehensive self-report instrument measures the perceived adjustment to communication experiences and is intended to aid in determining counselling needs in patients with laryngeal cancer who are treated with a laryngectomy. The first aim of this study is to evaluate the translation, psychometric properties and cultural adaptation of a Croatian version of the SECEL questionnaire. Secondary aim is to examine relationship between the Croatian version of the SECEL and the Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) and the Voice Handicap Index (VHI) questionnaires and to examine relationship between objective voice measures and Self-Evaluation of Communication Experiences after Laryngectomy (SECEL:HR).
At the first visit all patients included in the study were asked to complete the Croatian version of the Voice Handicap Index (VHI), Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) and Self-Evaluation of Communication Experiences after Laryngectomy (SECEL:HR) questionnaire. SECEL questionnaire consists of two parts. The first part examines the relevant general data on the person filling out the questionnaire, while the second part consists of 35 items questionably or statement-designed to examine communication experiences. Patients estimates the incidence of these communication difficulties on the Likert scale (0-never, 1-sometimes, 2-often, 3-always). 35 items are grouped according to 3 subscales named General (0-15 score range), Environment (0-42 score range) and Attitude (0-45 score range), and item number 35 is a separate question: "Do you talk the same amount now as before your laryngectomy?" and is rated with a "yes," "more," and "less" rating category. The overall numerical score varies from 0 to 102, and the higher score indicates greater difficulties and worse postoperative speech-communication adjustment. The Voice Handicap Index (VHI) questionnaire consist of 30 items organized in three subscales functional, physical and emotional and also scored with Likert scale with overall score from 0 to 120. Higher scores indicate a greater handicap. The Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) is a multi-purpose short-form health survey that consist of 36 questions divided in eight dimension and clustered into two groups: physical and mental health. Each item was standardized (range 0-100), with a higher score representing better QoL. The objective assessment includes the maximum phonation time measured in seconds as common clinical measure of glottal efficiency, diadochokinesis of the 3-syllable "pa-ta-ka" in 5 seconds (rated in syll/s) or how quickly subjects can produce a series of rapid sounds which is a measure of speech efficiency. All patients will fulfil the SECEL:HR questionnaire twice, two weeks after the initial test and that will be considered as a re-test of the SECEL reliability analysis.
Study Type
OBSERVATIONAL
Enrollment
50
Filling out questionnaires, measuring maximum phonation and diadochokinesis
University Hospital Osijek
Osijek, Croatia
Means, Standard Deviations (Ranges), Test-retest Reliability of the Self- Evaluation of Communication Experiences After Laryngectomy (SECEL:HR) Questionnaire
Completing the Croatian version of the SECEL questionnaire. Questionnaire consists of two parts. The first part examines the relevant general data on the person filling out the questionnaire, while the second part consists of 35 items questionably or statement-designed to examine communication experiences. Patients estimates the incidence of these communication difficulties on a 4-point scale (0-never, 1-sometimes, 2-often, 3-always) The 35 items are grouped according to 3 subscales named General (0-15 score range), Environment (0-42 score range) and Attitude (0-45 score range). Item number 35 is a separate question: "Do you talk the same amount now as before your laryngectomy?" and is rated with a "yes," "more," and "less" rating category. The overall numerical score varies from 0 to 102, where the higher score indicates greater difficulties and worse postoperative speech-communication adjustment.
Time frame: 15 minutes- required to complete the questionnaire
Means, Standard Deviations of SF-36
Completing the Croatian version of the Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) questionnaire. The SF-36 consist of 36 questions divided in eight dimension and clustered into two groups: physical and mental health. The 8 groups of questions are: physical functioning (SF-PF), role limitations due to physical problems (SF-RP), bodily pain ( SF-BP), general health (SF-GH), vitality (SF-VT), social functioning (SF-SF), emotional role ( SF-RE), mental health (SF-MH), change in health (SF-HC). To score the SF-36, scales are standardized with a scoring algorithm or by the SF-36v2 scoring software to obtain a score ranging from 0 to 100. Higher scores indicate better health status, and a mean score of 50 has been articulated as a normative value for all scales.
Time frame: 15 minutes- required to complete the questionnaire
Means, Standard Deviation of VHI Questionnaire
Completing the Croatian version of the Voice Handicap Index (VHI) questionnaire. The Voice Handicap Index (VHI) questionnaire consist of 30 items organized in three subscales: functional, physical and emotional, scored on 5-point scale (0-never, 1-almost never, 2-sometimes, 3-almost always, 4-always) with overall score from 0 to 120. Higher scores indicate a greater handicap.
Time frame: 15 minutes-required to complete the questionnaire
Mean, Standard Deviation of Maximum Phonation Time (MPT) and Diadochokinesis (DDK)
The maximum phonation time (measured in seconds) for which a person can sustain a vowel sound when produced on 1 deep breath at a comfortable pitch and loudness and is a common clinical measure of glottal efficiency. Diadochokinesis of the 3-syllable "pa-ta-ka" in 5 seconds (rated in syll/s),and the number of syllables per second of the 5 sentences. Diadochokinesis measures how quickly an individual can accurately produce a series of rapid, alternating sounds and is a simple and common clinical measure of speech efficiency.
Time frame: 5 minutes
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