Keywords
quility of life
teachers
professional voice
voice therapy
occupational health
How to Cite
Abstract
Objective: To analyze the effectiveness of a vocal health program in improving voice quality and voice-related quality of life among university teachers in Lima, Peru (2025). Methodology: A descriptive, longitudinal, analytical, and quantitative study was conducted at the Faculty of Medical Technology, Universidad Nacional Federico Villarreal (March–August 2025). A non-probabilistic intentional sample of 100 active university teachers was included, excluding those with administrative roles, history of laryngeal surgery, or neurological disorders. The Voice-Related Quality of Life protocol (V-RQOL, Spanish version) and the Voice Disorder Screening Index (VDSI) were applied. The program consisted of three stages: baseline evaluation, intervention (respiratory training, vocal resistance, articulation, and projection), and re-evaluation, over six weeks. Statistical analyses were performed using SPSS 26.0®, applying McNemar and Wilcoxon tests (p < 0.05). Results: Participants had a mean age of 45.1 ± 6.2 years and an average teaching experience of 13.5 ± 5.1 years. After the program, significant reductions in vocal symptoms were observed: hoarseness (78% to 32%), vocal fatigue (72% to 42%), and voice breaks (55% to 26%) (p = 0.001). The VDSI showed that 75% of teachers reported 6–12 symptoms at baseline, decreasing to 40% post-intervention (p = 0.001). The V-RQOL revealed significant improvements in the socioemotional domain (80.2 to 90.5), physical domain (69.5 to 85.1), and global score (74.3 to 87.3) (all p < 0.001). The proportion of teachers with high scores (≥85) increased from 35% to 84%. Conclusion: The Vocal Health Program proved effective in reducing symptoms and enhancing voice-related quality of life among university teachers. These findings highlight the importance of preventive phonoaudiological interventions in professionals with high vocal demands and reinforce the need for systematic vocal health promotion programs in educational institutions, with the speech-language pathologist as a key actor in their implementation and follow-up.
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