title: An interdisciplinary approach to teachers' voice disorders and psychosocial working conditions.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The goals of this epidemiological paper are focused on studying teachers' vocal complaints, their voice pattern, and the impact of voice disorders on psychosocial working conditions.
  
  
  METHODS
  A representative stratified random sample of 282 teachers from kindergartens and elementary schools was studied. Two types of self-report questionnaires were applied: an inquiry about teachers' occupational voice profile, and the adapted Spanish version of the Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire (ISTAS-21). Pearson's chi(2) test was performed to search for statistical associations.
  
  
  RESULTS
  62.7% of subjects were experiencing occupational voice disorders; these teachers showed significantly worse psychosocial conditions than their healthy voice colleagues.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Occupational voice disorders affect more than 60% of teachers and have an impact on their psychosocial working conditions. Interdisciplinary work is essential to shed light on these multifactor mechanisms and effects.
authors.affiliation: Radiology and Physical Medicine, Ophthalmology and Otorhinolaryngology Department, Medical Faculty, Málaga, Spain. bermudez @ uma.es
authors.forename: Rosa M Bermúdez
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: de Alvear
authors.forename: Ginés
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Martínez-Arquero
authors.forename: F Javier
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: Barón
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hernández-Mendo
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005178:Faculty; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health; D008875:Middle Aged; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D015995:Prevalence; D013315:Stress, Psychological; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014832:Voice Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*