Speaker's Comfort in Teaching Environments: Voice Problems in Swedish Teaching Staff

Subjective and perceptual analysis of voice quality and relationship with neurological disfunction in multiple sclerosis patients

Long-Time Voice Accumulation During Work, Leisure, and a Vocal Loading Task in Groups With Different Levels of Functional Voice Problems

Voice problems are common among teachers due to their job characteristics. Thus, the quality of teaching, daily communication, emotion would be adversely affected. However, the past studies mainly focused on primary school and preschool teachers. There is lack of investigation on voice problems of secondary school teachers. Moreover, the need for voice use training for secondary school teachers was not addressed in the past.
\n
\nThis study investigated the prevalence of voice problems in secondary school teachers in Hong Kong and the need for preventive education. A questionnaire was decided with domains in demographics, job natures, impact on voice disorders, risk factors, history of seeking help because of voice problems, view on different treatment options and opinion towards the need of voice protection training. Subjects were recruited from four local secondary schools in Hong Kong.
\n
\n85 questionnaires were collected and analyzed. The results showed a high prevalence of voice disorders (75%) among secondary school teachers. Also it revealed different levels of impact on work performance, emotion and daily communication. Laryngitis was the only risk factor found to be significantly correlated with the voice disorder. On the other hand, the rate of seeking professional help and their knowledge about voice rehabilitation were low. Most of the respondents realized the need for voice protection training. It suggested that the voice problems of secondary school teachers should be highlighted and more voice protection information and voice training should be provided.

Teachers often report voice problems related to the occupational environment, and voice problems are more prevalent in teaching than in other occupations. Relationships between objectively measurable acoustical parameters and voice use have been shown. Speakers have been shown to be able to predict the speaker-comfort of an environment. Teachers with voice problems use the room differently than their voice-healthy controls. The aim of this study was to investigate what vocal changes speakers do in different acoustical environments and noise conditions. Nine female speakers, voice patients, and voice-healthy were exposed to four controlled, acoustical “environments” mounted in the same room: 1. stripped; 2. wall- and ceiling mounted absorbents; 3-4 as 2 but with extra ceiling absorbents and in two positions. The speakers were recorded with voice-accumulator and simultaneous voice recordings and spoke freely for 3-5 min in three noise conditions in each setting: silence, classroom noise (60 dBA), and day-care noise (75 dBA). Questionnaires on effort needed were completed by speakers and listeners. There was a co-play between the rooms and the subjectively assessed vocal- and listening effort and also a correlation to cognitive aspects. Listener assessments and the data from the voice accumulator will be presented. This knowledge may contribute to the area of classroom acoustics and speakers’ comfort in general.

A Retrospective Study Concerning the Psychosocial Impact of Voice Disorders: Voice Handicap Index Change in Patients With Benign Voice Disorders After Treatment (Measured With the Dutch Version of the VHI)

Teachers have been identified as at increased risk of developing an occupational voice disorder. Primary school teachers are particularly at risk as they have little opportunity for voice rest during the working day. To analyse the prevalence and impact of voice problems in primary school teachers in the workplace. An 85-item questionnaire was administered to 550 primary school teachers from 42 schools in the greater Dublin area. A response rate of 55% was obtained. Results suggest that 27% suffered from a voice problem, 53% an 'intermittent' voice problem, while only 20% had no voice problem. Teachers of the junior classes were more vulnerable to developing a voice problem than those of senior classes. The most common symptoms were 'dry throat' and 'vocal fatigue'. Voice disorders were very common in our study of primary school teachers. Those most frequently affected taught the younger classes. Further intervention is needed to identify and minimize risk factors and reduce the negative impact of voice on the individual and on work.

The study examined that parents and teachers were aware of what extents behavioral characteristics were related to the children's voice problems. The voice samples of 89 children in the ages of 3 to 5 were collected and their voice quality were graded by G scale of GRBAS. The parents and teachers of the children were asked to complete the questionnaire composed of the pediatric Voice Handicap Index (pVHI) and the psycho- and voice behavioral characteristics of their children. The results are as follows. First, there were no significant differences in both pVHI and behavioral characteristics of their children by G scale. However, significant differences were shown in the behavioral characteristics between parents and teachers, but no difference in pVHI between them. In addition, there was a significant correlation between the psycho-behavioral characteristics and the voice behavioral characteristics in both parents and teachers. These results represent that parents and teachers are not aware of the presence of their children's voice problems and such voice problems are affected by behavioral characteristics associated with the use of voice.

PurposeMany aging individuals, even those who are healthy, report voice changes that can impact their ability to communicate as they once did. While this is commonly reported, most do not seek evaluation or management for this issue. The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence and differences in voice disorders in older adults, along with the effect of fatigue on their social interactions.MethodThis is a cross-sectional investigation of a community-dwelling sample of individuals aged 60 years or older. Participants completed the Questionnaire on Vocal Performance, the Social Engagement Index subset “Engagement in Social or Leisure Activities,” and the Fatigue Severity Scale.ResultsResults indicated 32.5% of the 332 participants reported symptoms of voice problems with no difference found between male and female respondents. A slight increase in report of voice problems was noted with each year of age. Participants who self-reported voice problems indicated less interaction in social activities involving communication than those who did not. Finally, as severity of self-reported voice problems increased, an increase was reported by the same individuals for signs of fatigue.ConclusionsVoice problems and resulting decreased social interaction are commonly experienced by older individuals. Voice symptoms in older adults have been found to benefit from evidence-based treatment strategies. It is critical to provide education to encourage older individuals to seek appropriate evaluation and management for voice issues through a speech-language pathologist or medical professional.

Background Voice problems are thought to be one of the major occupational hazards of school teaching; as teachers often use their voice with high-intensity, in noisy classes, for a long time and without suitable breaks. The measurement of vocal demands and risk factors is essential for adjusting occupational safety and health services to this population’s needs. Aim of the Work To estimate the prevalence of voice problems and to identify the possible risk factors for developing voice pathology among primary school teachers. Materials and Methods A cross sectional study was carried out in 10 primary schools in Cairo, Egypt. A total of 225 primary school teachers were invited to participate in the study. Data were collected through an interview questionnaire addressing the prevalence of voice problems and potential risk factors. Descriptive analysis and chi-square test were used to measure the relationship between voice problems and associated risk factors. Results The frequency of voice problems among teachers was 56.4% at any point of time throughout their career. The teachers reporting voice problems were compared with those without problems. Gender was significantly associated with the development of voice problems among teachers. Conclusion A high frequency of self-reported voice problems was found among the studied teachers which indicates that school teaching is a high-risk profession for occurrence of voice problems.

Pediatrician approach to dysphonia

Overview: Working music theater singers (MTS) typically have a heavy vocal load and little is known about their perception of vocal function. The Evaluation of the Ability to Sing Easily (EASE) was used to assess professional MTS' perceptions of current singing voice status and to compare scores across demographic and performance characteristics and to evaluate the construct validity of the EASE and its subscales (VF = Vocal Fatigue, PRI = Pathologic-Risk Indicators). Methods: Professional MTS (n = 284) completed an online survey including the EASE and two additional Vocal Concern (VC) items. Scores were compared across age, gender, whether currently working, role, perceived vocal load over the past 24 h and self-reported voice problem. Results: For the whole cohort, statistically significant differences were found on all subscales according to whether or not singers perceived themselves to have a voice problem (p < 0.001). Currently performing singers were significantly different from those not performing in a show on the EASE Total (p = 0.014) and VF (p = 0.002), but not for PRI and VC. In the currently performing singer group, significant differences were found for gender, role and perceived voice problem on the EASE Total and all subscales (p < 0.01). Significantly higher VF scores were recorded for singers with heavy vocal load (p = 0.01), but there were no differences on the EASE Total (p = 0.57), PRI (p = 0.19) or VC subscales (p = 0.53). Among these performing singers, no significant age differences were found for any EASE subscales. Conclusions: These findings provide further validation of the EASE as a useful tool for measuring singers' perceptions of vocal function and suggest that the subscales should be scored separately. Future evaluation of the EASE against objective clinical assessments (e.g., videostroboscopy) is recommended. © 2014 S. Karger AG, Basel

BackgroundPatient-reported side effect questionnaires offer a simple method for the systematic measurement of drug-related side effects. In order to measure patients' inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) related side effect perceptions the 14-day retrospective Inhaled Corticosteroid Questionnaire (ICQ) was developed. In this research we aim to assess the construct validity and reliability of the ICQ and test its responsiveness to dose changes in adult asthma patients.MethodsIn a cross-sectional study, current inhaler users with asthma completed the ICQ (27 with non ICS inhaler; 61 BDP equivalent daily ICS low dose ≤400 μg; 62 mid dose 401–800 μg; and 105 with high dose >800 μg). We generated 3 construct validity hypotheses: 1) a hierarchical dose-response pattern for scoring of the individual items on the ICQ, and statistically significant differences in the scores of each of the 15 ICQ domains by ICS dose group 2) an association between ICS dose and ICQ scoring after adjusting for appropriate confounders in multiple regression; 3) greater convergence between local side effect domains than between systemic and local domains of the scale. Test-retest reliability was assessed on a randomly selected subgroup of patients (n = 73) who also completed the ICQ a second time after 7 days. In a separate longitudinal study, 61 patients with asthma completed the ICQ at baseline and after changing their daily ICS dose, at 2- and 6- months, in order to test the ICQ's responsiveness.ResultsAll three construct validity hypotheses were well supported: 1) a statistically significant difference existed in scores for 14 domains, the high ICS dose group scoring highest; 2) ICS dose independently predicted ICQ scoring after adjusting for confounders; 3) greater convergence existed between local ICQ domains than between local and systemic domains. The ICQ had good reproducibility: test-retest intraclass correlation coefficients were ≥0.69 for all but the 'Facial Oedema' domain. In the longitudinal study, ICQ scores for 'Voice Problems' changed significantly at 2- and 6-months from baseline and other ICQ domains displayed trends in scoring change accordant with dose modulation at 6-months.ConclusionThe ICQ has good dose-related discriminative properties, is valid, reliable, and shows potential responsiveness to ICS dose change.

The number of students interested in attending Vocational High School (VHS) has increased year by year. However, the quality of graduates is at low level and the unemployment rate of VHS graduates accounts for largest proportion among other levels. According to some previous research, there have been the unemployment of the Business Management Vocational High School graduates. This study aims to: (1) explore information related to the partnership management model currently in Vocational Schools; and (2) creating a partnership management model expected by the industry and work sector. The research method used was an instrumental case study. The object of this research was Methodist Vocational School and Nur Azizi Vocational School, and the industry and work sector. Informants from the school are the principal, vice principal of curriculum, vice principal of student affairs, vice principal of infrastructure and facilities, vice principal of partnership relations, head of expertise program, head of principal, supervising teachers, and teachers of productive subjects. The subject of research in the industry and work sector was the field work practice instructor. Data collection techniques using interviews, documentation, and observation. The data analysis technique used was ATLAS.ti 9 software. The data validation was carried out by triangulation through Chief Section of Vocational School and the other related Vocational Schools. The results of the study indicated that (1) the partnership management model currently in Vocational Schools was still limited to planning, implementing, and evaluating students; and (2) the management model desired by the industry and work sector included guidelines for partnership, education and training standards, student guidance systems, skills testing standards, and student competency assessment standards. Keywords: Partnership Management, Mutual Benefit, Vocational High School

Development of ergonomic risk factors (physical and psychosocial) questionnaire among preschool teachers' work environment.

This research aimed to describe and analyze: 1) the effect of principal’s managerial ability toward teacher tourism performance at vocational high school in Manado City, 2) the effect of learning facilities toward teacher tourism performance at vocational high school in Manado City, and 3) the effect of principal’s managerial ability, and learning facilities simultaneously toward teacher tourism performance at vocational high school in Manado City. Survey method was implemented with qualitative approach. Population unit were 97 teacher of tourism major at Vocational High School in Manado City. Research sample were 49 teachers which randomly selected from 97. Questionnaire with Likert scale was the technique used to collect the data. Testing the hypothesis using simple and multiple correlation analysis. The result of data analysis showed that: 1) there was effect of principal’s managerial ability toward teacher tourism performance at vocational high school in Manado City, 22,7%. 2) there was effect of learning facilities toward teacher tourism performance at vocational high school in Manado City, 51,6%. and 3) there was effect principal’s managerial ability, and learning facilities simultaneously toward teacher tourism performance at vocational high school in Manado City, 51,6%. Based on these conclusion, it could be recommended that: 1) Principal's managerial competencies to be improved so that a professional school managerial system can be formed, 2) the availability of learning facilities is more adequate, so that it raises efficiency in the learning process, 3) The regional education department is expected to be able to synergize with the school in an effort to improve the principal managerial competencies, such as in terms of education and training, improvement of academic qualifications, and assistance with learning facilities. Keywords : Teacher Performance, Managerial Abilities, Learning Facilities, , DOI : 10.7176/JEP/10-11-07 Publication date : April 30 th 2019