BACKGROUND Most low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) rely significantly on private health expenditure in the form of out-of-pocket payments (OOP) and voluntary health insurance (VHI). This paper assesses VHI expenditure trends in LMIC and explores possible explanations. This illuminates challenges deriving from changes in VHI expenditure as countries aim to progress equitably towards univers...

INTRODUCTION The Voice Handicap Index has been shown to be a valid instrument for assessing self-perceived handicap associated with dysphonia. OBJECTIVES To test the psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the VHI-30 (Voice Handicap Index) and its shortened version VHI-10. SUBJECTS AND METHOD The original VHI-30 was translated into Spanish and was completed by 232 dysphonic patien...

Objective: Explore the practical clinical significance and correlation of voice handicap index (VHI) for vocal polyps and vocal nodules, and further validate practicality of VHI. Methods: VHI of vocal cord polyp group (n = 35), vocal nodule group (n = 29), and control group (n = 22) was surveyed respectively. The VHI investigation included three categories of function (F), physiology (P) and em...

BACKGROUND Responses to height may range from indifference to minor distress to severe symptoms of fear of heights (acrophobia); visual height intolerance (vHI) denotes the whole spectrum of symptoms. Although there are options to manage vHI, only a small part of persons affected by vHI are willing to seek professional help or confront their problem. Purpose of this study was to determine if pe...

In the velvet hand illusion (VHI), a person rubs his/her hands together on either side of wires strung through a frame, producing the sensation of rubbing a very smooth and soft surface like velvet. We investigate the VHI mechanism to obtain an effective hint for a new tactile display because such tactile illusions play a good role in deceiving the brain so that operators believe that a virtual...

PURPOSE To map voice handicap of popular singers with a general voice and two singing voice self-assessment questionnaires. METHODS Fifty singers, 25 male and 25 female, 23 with vocal complaint and 27 without vocal complaint answered randomly the questionnaires. For the comparison of data, the following statistical tests were performed: Mann-Whitney, Friedman, Wilcoxon, Spearman and Correlati...

BACKGROUND We examined the vocal complaints and evaluated the correlation between the vocal handicap index (VHI) and heart rate variability (HRV) in physical education teachers. We evaluated 46 teachers. METHOD The subjects were investigated regarding voice complaint and the VHI was applied. HRV was recorded at seated rest for ten minutes and it was analyzed in the time, frequency domains, ge...

OBJECTIVES/HYPOTHESIS The relationship between patient-reported vocal handicap and clinician-rated measures of vocal dysfunction is not understood. This study aimed to determine if a correlation exists between the Voice Handicap Index-10 (VHI-10) and the Voice Functional Communication Measure rating in the National Outcomes Measurement System (NOMS). STUDY DESIGN Retrospective case series. ...

The purpose of this study was to investigate the correlation between the Voice Handicap Index (VHI) and the Voice-Related Quality of Life Measure (V-RQOL), and to test conversion of scores between the two instruments. Understanding the relationship between instruments will facilitate comparison of voice outcome studies using different measures. A retrospective medical chart review of 140 consec...

Aim: To compare laryngeal preservation rates, survival rates, and voice outcomes after treatment of early glottic cancer between transoral laser microsurgery (TLM) and radiotherapy (RT). Materials and methods: A review of oncologic results was performed on a consecutive series of individuals with early-stage glottic carcinoma (T1 and T2) who were treated between 2011 and 2014 at Kidwai Memorial...