Reliability and validity of the Turkish version of the Aging Voice Index.

PURPOSE: The Ageing Voice Index is a valid and reliable tool for assessing the impact of changes in the voice of older adults. Our aim is to adapt the Aging Voice Index with Turkish older adults and test its reliability and validity to create the Turkish Aging Voice Index.

METHOD: A total of 206 participants were included in the study. Construct validity, criterion validity, test-retest reliability, internal consistency, and confirmatory factor analysis were investigated. Finally, the sensitivity and specificity of the Turkish Aging Voice Index were calculated using receiver operating characteristics curve analysis.

RESULT: The Turkish Aging Voice Index has excellent internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha= 0.971). A high intraclass correlation for test-retest reliability was found (ICC = 0.953, p < 0.001). Construct validity of the Turkish Aging Voice Index was found to be statistically significant (p < 0.001) by comparing the mean Turkish Aging Voice Index scores between the study and control groups. For criterion validity, a statistically positive high correlation was found between the mean scores of the Turkish Aging Voice Index and the Turkish version of the Voice Handicap Index-10 (r = 0.854, p < 0.001). The cut-off value of the Turkish Aging Voice Index was 15.50 with a sensitivity of 85.01% and a specificity of 84.8%.

CONCLUSION

The Turkish Aging Voice Index is a valid and reliable tool for elderly patients with voice disorders. A score >15.50 is an indicator of voice problems in the older population.