Reliability and Validity of the Mandarin Version of the Voice-Related Quality of Life (MV-RQOL) Measure

Objectives. The reliability and validity of the Voice-Related Quality of Life (V-RQOL) measure has been conducted in languages other than Mandarin. Therefore, this study aims to analyze the reliability and validity of the Mandarin version of the V-RQOL (MV-RQOL) questionnaire. Methods. The MV-RQOL was completed by a total of 57 participants, including 27 individuals with voice disorders (VD) and 30 individuals without voice disorders (NVD). Statistical analyses were carried out to evaluate the validity, reliability, reproducibility, and the Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve was also derived. Results. Statistical analyses demonstrated the MV-RQOL has strong internal consistency. The test-retest reliability was found to be high as well. There was a significant difference between the groups with and without voice disorders. The NVD group had higher scores compared with the VD group for the overall MV-RQOL score and for the 2 domains. In addition, the scores between males and females showed no significant differences. A signifi- cant difference was found between the MV-RQOL scores of individuals who defined their voices as good and very good, and those who defined their voices as poor and fair. Area under the curve value from ROC curve was found to be 0.994. The optimal cutoff value was found to be 85.00, with sensitivity of 96.7% and specificity of 96.3%. Conclusions. Based on the results, it can be suggested that the MV-RQOL measure is a reliable and valid selfassessment tool, that discriminates well between patients with and without voice disorders, in the Taiwanese population.