Voice problems of secondary school teachers and the need for preventative education

Abstract

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.

This 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.

85 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.