ABSTRACT
Purpose
To apply the Psychosocial Scale of Facial Appearance in order to verify its applicability and reproducibility in a pilot study.
Methods
Subjects: eight adult subjects with peripheral facial palsy were selected according to established criteria. Procedures: 1. speech-language assessment of the facial function; 2. verification of the reliability of the Psychosocial Scale of Facial Appearance; 3. verification of the scale’s reproducibility; 4. application of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. A descriptive analysis of the data was performed, and the paired t-Student test (between times 1 and 2) and the intraclass correlation coefficient (ricc) were applied.
Results
Assessing the applicability increased the familiarity with the data collection process and contributed to modifications in the procedures. The questionnaire proved to be reliable for all the scales analyzed: Functional, Social, and Emotional Aspects of Face, General, and Note Assigned to the Face. The intraclass correlation coefficient (ricc) demonstrated the reproducibility of the instrument by showing excellent values for all thematic groups analyzed.
Conclusion
This study provided subsides for the improvement and final elaboration of an instrument that aims to investigate the psychosocial aspects associated with peripheral facial palsy.
Facial paralysis; Evaluation; Psychosocial impact; Questionnaires; Reproducibility of results
