Association between voice symptoms and college professors’ home working conditions during online classes in times of COVID-19 pandemic
Asociación entre síntomas vocales y condiciones de trabajo en casa durante las clases online en tiempos de COVID-19 de docentes universitarios
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Show authors biography
Introduction. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, teaching conditions changed around the world from in-person classes to online classes, which also determined changes on teachers’ working conditions.
Method: Exploratory cross-sectional study with the aim of determining the association between two voice symptoms (vocal fatigue and throat pain) with home working conditions during online classes in times of COVID-19 pandemic. Professors answered an online survey including 27 questions about four components: sociodemographic factors, characteristics of home working, quarantine characteristics, and health conditions (including voice functioning).
Results: 177 college professors from Argentina, Colombia, and Chile participated in this study. First, incidence of vocal fatigue, during online classes in times of COVID-19 pandemic, represented around 50%. Although throat pain had a smaller incidence, it was also important (35%). Second, days in quarantine, number of classes per week, people living with during quarantine, and history of vocal fatigue before quarantine were important associated factors of vocal fatigue. Third, important associated factors of throat pain were number of classes per week, level of stress, years of experience, and history of throat pain before quarantine.
Conclusion: Similar to pre-COVID-19, vocal fatigue and throat pain were frequently reported voice symptoms among college professors. Associated factors of these symptoms included years of experience, number of classes per week, stress, people living with during quarantine due to COVID-19, and history of voice symptoms. Workplace Health Promotion programs should include activities that facilitate a healthy occupational voice use during and post-COVID-19 pandemic, considering the implications of online teaching on teachers’ health and safety.
Article visits 726 | PDF visits 338
- Hunter EJ, Cantor-Cutiva LC, van Leer E, van Mersbergen M, Nanjundeswaran CD, Bottalico P, et al. Toward a Consensus Description of Vocal Effort, Vocal Load, Vocal Loading, and Vocal Fatigue. J Speech Lang Hear Res. 2020 Feb;63(2):509–32. doi: https://doi.org/10.1044/2019_JSLHR-19-00057
- Cercal GCS, Paula AL de, Novis JMM, Ribeiro VV, Leite APD. Fadiga vocal em professores universitários no início e ao final do ano letivo. CoDAS. 2020;32(1). doi: https://doi.org/10.1590/2317-1782/20192018233
- Cantor Cutiva LC, Vogel I, Burdorf A. Voice disorders in teachers and their associations with work-related factors: a systematic review. J Commun Disord. 2013 Apr;46(2):143–55. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcomdis.2013.01.001
- Cantor Cutiva LC, Burdorf A. Effects of noise and acoustics in schools on vocal health in teachers. Noise Health. 2015 Feb;17(74):17–22. doi: https://doi.org/10.4103/1463-1741.149569
- Cantor Cutiva LC, Burdorf A. Work-Related Determinants of Voice Complaints Among School Workers: An Eleven-Month Follow-Up Study. Am J Speech Lang Pathol. 2016;25(4):590–7. doi: https://doi.org/10.1044/2016_AJSLP-14-0191
- Cantor Cutiva LC, Burdorf A. Factors associated with voice-related quality of life among teachers with voice complaints. J Commun Disord. 2014 Dec;52:134–42. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcomdis.2014.05.003
- Moghtader M, Soltani M, Mehravar M, JafarShaterzadehYazdi M, Dastoorpoor M, Moradi N. The Relationship Between Vocal Fatigue Index and Voice Handicap Index in University Professors With and Without Voice Complaint. J voice [Internet]. 2019 Feb;34(5). doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jvoice.2019.01.010
- Carrillo-Gonzalez A, Camargo-Mendoza M, Cantor-Cutiva LC. Relationship Between Sleep Quality and Stress with Voice Functioning among College Professors: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. Journal of Voice [Internet]. 2019 Diciembre;35(3):499.e13-499.e21. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvoice.2019.11.001
- Giannini S. Covid-19 y educación superior: De los efectos inmediatos al día después. Revista Latinoamericana de Educación Comparada: RELEC. 2020;11(17):1–57. Available from: https://www.saece.com.ar/relec/revistas/17/doc1.pdf
- Besser A, Lotem S, Zeigler-Hill V. Psychological stress and vocal symptoms among university professors in Israel: implications of the shift to online synchronous teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Voice. 2020;36(2):291.e9–291.e16. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvoice.2020.05.028
- Patjas M, Vertanen-Greis H, Pietarinen P, Geneid A. Voice symptoms in teachers during distance teaching: a survey during the COVID-19 pandemic in Finland. European Archives of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology. 2021;278(11):4383-4390. doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00405-021-06960-w.
- Cantor-Cutiva LC. Relationship between room acoustics with voice symptoms and voice-related quality of life among Colombian school and college teachers during online classes in times of COVID-19 pandemic. J Voice. Forthcoming 2022. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvoice.2022.03.008
- Roy N, Merrill RM, Thibeault S, Parsa RA, Gray SD, Smith EM. Prevalence of voice disorders in teachers and the general population. J Speech Lang Hear Res. 2004 Apr;47(2):281–93. doi: https://doi.org/10.1044/1092-4388(2004/023)
- Cantor-Cutiva LC, Robles-Vega HY, Sánchez EA, Morales DA. Differences on Voice Acoustic Parameters between Colombian College Professors with and without Vocal Fatigue. Journal of Voice [Internet]. 2020 Jun 19 [cited 2020 Sep 29]. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvoice.2020.05.008
- Devadas U, Bellur R, Maruthy S. Prevalence and Risk Factors of Voice Problems Among Primary School Teachers in India. J Voice. 2017 Jan;31(1):117.e1-117.e10. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvoice.2016.03.006
- Gomes NR, Teixeira LC, de Medeiros AM. Vocal symptoms in university professors: Their association with vocal resources and with work environment. Journal of Voice. 2018;34(3):352-357. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvoice.2018.10.010
- Sathyanarayan M, Boominathan P, Nallamuthu A. Vocal Health Practices Among School Teachers: A Study From Chennai, India. J Voice. 2018 Aug 20;33(5):812.e1-812.e7. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvoice.2018.04.005
- Hamdan AL, Sibai AM, Srour ZM, Sabra OA, Deeb RA. Voice disorders in teachers. The role of family physicians. Saudi Med J. 2007 Mar;28(3):422–8. Available from: https://smj.org.sa/content/28/3/422
- Carrillo-González A, Atará-Piraquive ÁP. Vocal health and stress: the occupational voice users’ perspective during the COVID-19 pandemic. Revista de Investigación e Innovación en Ciencias de la Salud. 2020;2(2):102-110-102–10. doi: https://doi.org/10.46634/riics.38
- Hunter EJ, Banks RE. Gender Differences in the Reporting of Vocal Fatigue in Teachers as Quantified by the Vocal Fatigue Index. Ann Otol Rhinol Laryngol. 2017 Dec;126(12):813–8. doi: https://doi.org/10.1177/0003489417738788
- Padilha Alves L, Araújo LTR, Xavier Neto JA. Prevalência de queixas vocais e estudo de fatores associados em uma amostra de professores de ensino fundamental em Maceió, Alagoas, Brasil. Revista Brasileira de Saúde Ocupacional. 2010;35(121):168–75. doi: https://doi.org/10.1590/S0303-76572010000100018
- Bruck Marcal CC, Peres MA. Self-reported voice problems among teachers: prevalence and associated factors. Rev Saude Publica. 2011 Jun;45(3):503–11. doi: https://doi.org/10.1590/S0034-89102011005000025
