Occupational Medicine 2014;64:382–386 Advance Access publication 6 May 2014 doi:10.1093/occmed/kqu052

Voice disorders in Nigerian primary school teachers R. Akinbode, K. B. H. Lam, J. G. Ayres and S. Sadhra Institute of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK. Correspondence to: S. Sadhra, Institute of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK. Tel: +44 (0)121 414 6008; fax: +44 (0)121 414 6217; e-mail: [email protected]

Aims

To determine the prevalence of voice disorders among primary school teachers in Lagos, Nigeria, and to explore associated risk factors.

Methods

Teaching and non-teaching staff from 19 public and private primary schools completed a self-administered questionnaire to obtain information on personal lifestyles, work experience and environment, and voice disorder symptoms. Dysphonia was defined as the presence of at least one of the following: hoarseness, repetitive throat clearing, tired voice or straining to speak.

Results

A total of 341 teaching and 155 non-teaching staff participated. The prevalence of dysphonia in teachers was 42% compared with 18% in non-teaching staff. A significantly higher proportion of the teachers reported that voice symptoms had affected their ability to communicate effectively. School type (public/private) did not predict the presence of dysphonia. Statistically significant associations were found for regular caffeinated drink intake (odds ratio [OR] = 3.07; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.51–6.62), frequent upper respiratory tract infection (OR = 3.60; 95% CI: 1.39–9.33) and raised voice while teaching (OR = 10.1; 95% CI: 5.07–20.2).

Conclusions Nigerian primary school teachers were at risk for dysphonia. Important environment and personal factors were upper respiratory infection, the need to frequently raise the voice when teaching and regular intake of caffeinated drinks. Dysphonia was not associated with age or years of teaching. Key words

Dysphonia; Nigeria; primary school teachers; risk factors; voice disorders.

Introduction Prolonged use or abuse of the voice can cause symptoms such as hoarseness, weak voice and sore throat. These may subsequently lead to vocal fold tissue damage and consequent dysphonia [1]. Teachers, due to their use of voice as the primary tool of their trade, are particularly at risk. Previous studies have reported a prevalence of voice disorders among teachers between 11 and 81% [2–11]. A  recent systematic review has attributed this wide prevalence range to the use of different assessment tools and definitions of dysphonia (such as the presence of vocal symptoms or medical diagnosis) [12], although variations in environmental and social factors in different parts of the world may also play a role. Dysphonia among teachers has been linked with years of teaching [13], female gender [8,11,14] and speaking in a noisy

environment [15]. Reluctance to seek professional help and the paucity of information available to teachers on the recognition and prevention of dysphonia are also recognized as important factors [9]. Dysphonia in teachers has been recognized mainly in the USA and Europe [12] although recent studies are available from Brazil [11,16], Singapore [2] and Taiwan [17]. There is a paucity of data from developing countries, particularly from Africa. The prevalence of dysphonia among teachers in developing countries such as Nigeria may be higher than in developed countries due to the relatively poor infrastructure of schools, limited technical teaching equipment and a higher pupil:teacher ratio. The aim of this study was to determine the self-reported prevalence of dysphonia among primary school teachers in Lagos, Nigeria, and to explore associated individual lifestyle and work environmental risk factors.

© The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society of Occupational Medicine. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: [email protected]

Downloaded from http://occmed.oxfordjournals.org/ at Northwestern University Library on February 9, 2015

Background The prolonged use or abuse of voice may lead to vocal fatigue and vocal fold tissue damage. School teachers routinely use their voices intensively at work and are therefore at a higher risk of dysphonia.

R. AKINBODE ET AL.: VOICE DISORDERS IN NIGERIAN PRIMARY SCHOOL TEACHERS  383

Methods

Results Of the 443 questionnaires sent to teaching staff, 346 were returned, of which 341 were usable, an overall response of 77%. Of the 171 questionnaires sent to non-teaching staff, 155 (91%) were completed and returned. Twelve of the 19 schools included in the study were public schools, which when compared with private schools tended to

Table 1.  Demographic information and prevalence of symptoms of voice disorder by profession All

Teaching staff n 496 341 Gender (%)  Male 93 55 (19)  Female 403 275 (81) Age tertile (%)  17–34 years 169 98 (30)  35–48 years 171 112 (34)  49–60 years 138 116 (36) Hoarseness of voice (%)  No 274 167 (49)  Seldom 98 73 (21)  Often 77 62 (18)   Very often 42 39 (11) Frequent throat clearing (%)  No 263 155 (46)  Seldom 102 87 (26)  Often 75 60 (18)   Very often 49 37 (11) Tired or weak voice (%)  No 256 153 (45)  Seldom 144 97 (29)  Often 56 56 (16)   Very often 34 34 (10) Effort or strain to speak (%)  No 280 167 (49)  Seldom 125 88 (26)  Often 57 57 (17)   Very often 28 28 (8) Dysphonia (%)  No 320 197 (58)  Yes 171 144 (42) NS, not significant.

P

Profession Other staff 155 27 (17) 128 (83)

NS

71 (47) 59 (39) 22 (14)

Voice disorders in Nigerian primary school teachers.

The prolonged use or abuse of voice may lead to vocal fatigue and vocal fold tissue damage. School teachers routinely use their voices intensively at ...
207KB Sizes 0 Downloads 5 Views