Objective: Unilateral vocal fold paralysis (UVFP) is often characterized by severe dysphonia, which negatively impacts a patient’s quality of life and merits treatment. Voice therapy and medialization surgery are usually advised and may have positive outcomes on voice quality and voice-related quality of life. However, it is still unknown how UVFP treatment is experienced from a patient-centered perspective. Therefore, the purpose of the current study was to explore the experiences with healthcare of patients with UVFP.
Methods: Twenty-four adults with UVFP (age range: 39-74) participated in the study. Qualitative data were collected from semi-structured interviews, which were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed with the software program NVivo. The interviews were coded using an inductive thematic approach.
Results: Five major themes were identified through thematic analysis: relationship with healthcare providers (HCPs), expectations, experiences with treatment, obstacles, and patient support. Overall, participants had positive experiences with HCPs and treatment, although certain issues may arise throughout rehabilitation. HCPs were expected to be knowledgeable, honest, and empathic. Patient narratives reflected the importance of setting realistic expectations regarding voice recovery. Voice therapy was generally considered useful, but also sometimes perceived as tedious. The speech-language pathologist (SLP) was often considered an important person of trust. Obstacles included finding the right HCP, time and distance to the SLP, and reimbursement of voice therapy. Valuable sources of patient support were the personal social circle, peer sufferers, and certain HCPs such as the SLP or psychologist.
Discussion: The themes in this study provide insights into important patient experiences and preferences, as well as obstacles during voice rehabilitation for UVFP. These findings may aid healthcare providers in improving individualized and patient-centered care.