Cross-cultural adaptation of the Chilean Version of the Voice-Related Quality of Life (V-RQOL).

Abstract

To achieve a cross-cultural equivalence of the Chilean version of the V-RQOL protocol, through its cultural and linguistic adaptation. First, two bilingual speech therapists made a translation of the V-RQOL into Spanish. Second, a back-translation to English was performed by a speech therapist who did not participate in the previous stages. Then, a comparison between the original and the back-translation versions of the test was conducted. The existing discrepancies were modified by a committee of five speech therapists, translating the name of the Voice-Related Quality of Life (V-RQOL) instrument into Spanish as Medición de la Calidad de Vida en Relación a la Voz (MCV-RV), with 10 questions and 5 possible answers for each. In order to analyze cultural equivalence, the protocol was applied to 15 individuals with voice disorders. For each question, a 'Not applicable' option was added to the possible answers to determine which questions were not clearly understood by the individuals being tested. Two of the assessed individuals had difficulties in answering a distinct question, though only one of these two questions was modified. The final version of MCV-RV protocol was applied to five individuals with voice disorders who had no difficulty understanding the questions properly. The MCV-RV reflects the original English version, both in the number and types of questions (including physical functioning and the social-emotional aspects). A cross-cultural equivalence of the V-RQOL was achieved, thereby creating an adapted Chilean-Spanish version (MCV-RV). The validation of the MCV-RV protocol for Chilean Spanish is currently in progress.