The background biopsychosocial status of teachers with voice handicap

Isabelle Vanhoudt

The aim of the study is to explore the background biopsychosocial status of teachers with a voice handicap. This research is a cross-sectional survey study, using questionnaires: a general questionnaire, the Voice Handicap Index (VHI) and the Symptom CheckList-90 (SCL-90). The group under investigation consists of 203 female teachers of primary education. The focus of the study is on those teachers, which score in the highest and the lowest quartile of the SCL-90, as they report a higher or lower level of overall physical and psychosocial dysfunction. Fifty-five teachers scored in the lowest quartile and 51 in the highest quartile of the total score of the SCL-90 (n = 106). The upper quartiles SCL-90 scores are mentioned as “high scores” and the lower quartile scores are mentioned as “low scores”. VHI-scores above the 75th percentile are referred to as “high voice handicap” and VHI-scores below the 25th percentile are referred to as “low voice handicap”.
Subjects who reported voice complaints had a greater relative risk for a high score for the following subscales of the SCL-90: anxiety (Odds Ratio (OR) = 2.0), depression (Odds Ratio (OR) = 1.7), hostility (OR = 1.8) and sleep problems (OR = 1.8), in comparison to those without voice complaints. Teachers who reported voice complaints also had a greater relative risk for a high total score of the SCL-90 (OR = 1.6). Subjects who had a high voice handicap have a greater relative risk for a high score on all the subscales (OR = 2.1 -20.2) and total score (OR = 12.5) of the SCL-90. Teachers who did not report voice complaints despite a high voice handicap had a greater relative risk for a high score for all the subscales (OR = 1.8 -24.5) and total score (OR = 22.4) of the SCL-90. The results of this study indicate the role of the biopsychosocial status in relation to voice handicap and reporting voice problems and are a plea for implication of the biopsychosocial status of the patient in voice care and cure.

Isabelle Vanhoudt: isabelle@postduif.be

Isabelle Vanhoudt*, George Thomas***, Wivine Decoster*, Willy A.R. Wellens**, Hans Vertommen****, Felix I.C.R.S de Jong*
* LAW, Exp. ORL, Dept. Neurosciences, K.U.Leuven, Belgium
** Dep. ENT, Head and Neck Surgery -Lab. Exp. ORL, K.U.Leuven, Belgium
*** Department of ORL, Radboud University Medical Centre Nijmegen, The Netherlands **** Research Group Psychodiagnostics and Psychopathology, K.U.Leuven, Belgium