A welfare economic approach to measure outcomes in stuttering: comparing willingness to pay and quality adjusted life years.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare two welfare outcome measures, willingness to pay (WTP) and quality adjusted life years (QALYs) gained, to measure outcomes in stuttering.

Method: Seventy-eight adult participants (74 nonstuttering and 4 persons with stuttering) completed one face-to-face structured interview regarding how much they would be willing to pay to alleviate severe stuttering in three interventions of varying impact. These data were compared with QALYs gained as calculated from time trade off (TTO) and standard gamble (SG) data.

Assessment of respondent acceptability for preference measures in stuttering.

Purpose: To assess the feasibility of using one or more of four standard economic preference measures to assess health-related quality of life in stuttering, by assessing respondents' views of the acceptability of those measures.

Method And Results: A graphic positioning scale approach was used with 80 adults to assess four variables previously defined as reflecting the construct of respondent acceptability (difficulty of decision making, clarity of text, reasonableness for decision making, and comfort in decision making) for four types of preference measurement approaches (rating scale, standard gamble, time trade-off, and willingness to pay). A multivariate repeated measures analysis of variance (p<.

Stuttering treatment research 1970-2005: II. Systematic review incorporating trial quality assessment of pharmacological approaches.

Purpose: To complete a systematic review, incorporating trial quality assessment, of published research about pharmacological treatments for stuttering. Goals included the identification of treatment recommendations and research needs based on the available high-quality evidence.

Method: Multiple readers reviewed 31 articles published between 1970 and 2005, using a written data extraction instrument developed as a synthesis of existing standards and recommendations.

Stuttering treatment research 1970-2005: I. Systematic review incorporating trial quality assessment of behavioral, cognitive, and related approaches.

Purpose: To complete a systematic review, with trial quality assessment, of published research about behavioral, cognitive, and related treatments for developmental stuttering. Goals included the identification of treatment recommendations and research needs based on the available high-quality evidence about stuttering treatment for preschoolers, school-age children, adolescents, and adults.

Method: Multiple readers reviewed 162 articles published between 1970 and 2005, using a written data extraction instrument developed as a synthesis of existing standards and recommendations.

The Stuttering Treatment Research Evaluation and Assessment Tool (STREAT): evaluating treatment research as part of evidence-based practice.

Purpose: This article presents, and explains the issues behind, the Stuttering Treatment Research Evaluation and Assessment Tool (STREAT), an instrument created to assist clinicians, researchers, students, and other readers in the process of critically appraising reports of stuttering treatment research.

Method: The STREAT was developed by combining and reorganizing previously published recommendations about the design and conduct of stuttering treatment research.

Conclusions: If evidence-based practice is to be widely adopted as the basis for stuttering assessment and treatment, procedures must be developed and distributed that will allow students, clinicians, and other readers without specialized knowledge of research design to critically appraise treatment research reports.

Using preference-based measures to assess quality of life in stuttering.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine whether standard pharmaco-economic preference methods can be used to assess perceived quality of life in stuttering.

Method: Seventy-five nonstuttering adults completed a standardized face-to-face interview that included a rating scale, standard gamble, and time trade-off preference measures for 4 health states (your health and mild, moderate, and severe stuttering) in the context of 2 anchor states (perfect health and death).

Results: Results showed mean utility values between .

Science and pseudoscience in communication disorders: criteria and applications.

Purpose: The purpose of this tutorial is to describe 10 criteria that may help clinicians distinguish between scientific and pseudoscientific treatment claims. The criteria are illustrated, first for considering whether to use a newly developed treatment and second for attempting to understand arguments about controversial treatments.

Method: Pseudoscience refers to claims that appear to be based on the scientific method but are not.

Psychometric evaluation of disease specific quality of life instruments in voice disorders.

The objective of this study was to compare the psychometric properties of voice disordered quality of life (VQOL) instruments. Nine VQOL instruments were identified through a comprehensive literature search. Based on specific criteria, four were selected for comprehensive review: Voice Handicap Index (VHI), Voice Activity and Participation Profile (VAPP), Voice-Related Quality of Life (V-RQOL) and Voice Outcome Survey (VOS).