Narrative review of vocal self-assessment instruments in Chile

Abstract

Dysphonic subjects do not always present an adequate perception of their voice, or of how vocal alterations affect their environment, modifying their quality of life. Vocal self-as- sessment protocols help the clinician to perceive whether the dysphonic patient feels affec- ted by his vocal problems or not. There are numerous protocols for vocal self-assessment, however, few of these are currently validated in Chile. This work corresponds to a narra- tive review regarding the validation of vocal self-assessment instruments in Chile. The bibliographic search was conducted in the search sites: Pubmed, Scielo and Bireme. The following descriptors were used: Chile, voice, validation studies, cross-cultural compari- son. Two restrictions were used: the research had to be published in English and/or Spa- nish, with a publication date between 2008 and 2020. A total of 41 articles were found, eliminating 24 duplicates and 13 of unrelated content, resulting in 4 articles analyzed corresponding to 3 instruments translated into Spanish. The use of vocal self-assessment protocols complements the clinical and objective assessment of the voice, contributing to the perception of the patient, relevant for speech therapy, however, the number of vocal self-assessment protocols in Chile with translation, cultural adaptation and standardized validation remains sparse.