Long-Term Effects of a Voice Training Program to Prevent Voice Disorders in Teachers.

OBJECTIVES: Research findings about long-term effectiveness of voice training programs for teachers are limited. This study shows long-term evaluation results of a statewide voice training program for teachers in Lower Saxony/Germany.

METHOD: Twenty-seven voice training sessions with 286 participating teachers were evaluated with different questionnaire surveys on three different occasions (prior and after seminar, follow-up 3 months later). Prior the training and 3 months after completion of the training the validated self-assessment tool Voice Profile for Professional Voice users (VPPV) was used to measure subjective impact of voice problems on the participating teachers. In addition, questionnaires to evaluate benefits of the seminars for everyday working life, possible voice changes and satisfaction with the program were used.

RESULTS: Prior the training 64.9% of the participating teachers were above the cut-off point of the VPPV that indicates a high subjective impact of voice problems. Three month after the training this number decreased by -14.9% down to 50% (P= 0.001, T = 3.437, df = 314). Ninety-three percent of the respondents implemented aspects of the voice training seminar in their occupational everyday life. Furthermore, teachers showed a slight or considerable improvement of their vocal resilience (72.2%) 3 months after the training. This included rarer clearing of the throat (80.6%) and/or a reduction of vocal tract discomfort symptoms (66%).

CONCLUSION: The results indicate that a vast majority of teachers implement contents of the voice training program in their occupational everyday life and that these changes in behavior lead to a better vocal capacity and vocal performance. Nevertheless, the number of teachers that have a mean value in the VPPV that can be regarded as very high self-perceived voice impact which indicates a risk for a voice disorder is still high after the voice training. Voice training sessions held so far proofed to be an important aspect to reduce self-perceived voice impact in teachers in Lower Saxony/Germany.