Voice disorders in primary school teachers and barriers to care.
BACKGROUND
Teachers have an increased prevalence of voice disorders that result in reduced activities, missed workdays, and occupation changes. However, only a small fraction of these teachers have sought professional help for their disorders. The purpose of this study was to elucidate some of the barriers to care that teachers may face.


METHODS
Cross-sectional survey.


METHODS
One thousand subjects were randomly selected from a list of 95,364 Kindergarten-12 teachers in North Carolina. Teachers were mailed a 43-item survey, with domains including demographics, personal voice health, and barriers to care using a five-point Likert scale. Results were tabulated, and statistical analysis was performed using the chi-square test.


RESULTS
Two hundred forty-three responses were received; 237 were complete. Twenty-two percent were currently hoarse. Fifty-eight percent had been hoarse at one point. Twenty-three percent had missed work for hoarseness. Only one-third (32.6%) had sought professional help. Women and those older than 45 years were more likely to seek help (P<0.001 and P=0.008, respectively). Fewer than half were aware of voice therapy or believed that a doctor could help. Thirty percent believed that hoarseness was normal in teaching.


CONCLUSIONS
There are multiple barriers to care for the dysphonic teacher, including the lack of awareness of the availability of professional help. Further studies should evaluate teacher education and reducing barriers to care.
Department of Surgery, Division of Otolaryngology--Head & Neck Surgery, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina 27710, USA.
Victor
V
Da Costa
Elizabeth
E
Prada
Andrew
A
Roberts
Seth
S
Cohen
D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005178:Faculty; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009657:North Carolina / Q000453:epidemiology; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000628:therapy; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D012574:Schools; D013070:Speech Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014832:Voice Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000628:therapy; D014834:Voice Training