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Voice DisorderPreventionNCT01199172

Prevention and Treatment of Voice Problems in Teachers

A study testing voice hygiene and VH + VP in people with Voice Disorder, run by University of Pittsburgh at 1 site in United States.

Completed

Finished. The study has ended and is not enrolling. Results may be posted on the official record.

Official record
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Trial summary

The proposed series addresses the prevention and treatment of voice problems in teachers. Data in the literature clearly identify voice disorders as teachers' primary occupational risk not only in the U.S. but also internationally. Moreover, voice problems constitute a global women's health concern. Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 21 to 40 yearsHealthy volunteers can take part
Conditions the study is for
Voice Disorder
What is being tested?
voice hygiene and VH + VP
Could I receive a placebo?
No, everyone receives an active treatment
How many people
140 participants
Where
1 siteUnited States
Study dates
Oct 2009to Dec 2015
Phase
Interventional
Are there results?
None posted in the registry

Key requirements

Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.

  • Ages 21 to 40 years
  • All sexes
  • Healthy volunteers accepted
  • Adult

By self-report in person or over the phone: (a) 21-40 yr; (b) no current self-perceived voice problem;(c) student teacher in the final year of formal education prior to the initiation of employment as a teacher and imminent start of the first formal teaching practicum; (d) availability and willingness to attend up to an 8-hr group intervention on 1 of 2 days when it will be offered the week before the start of student teaching, willingness to be randomized to one of three groups, and stated willingness to persist with the entire 2.5-yr protocol, which will involve baseline, 1-mo, 3-mo, 1-yr,and 2-yr follow-up measures, and two separate interventions followed by a 4-wk hygiene reporting and potentially voice exercise period for intervention groups; (e) intention to obtain employment as a teacher in the school year following graduation; (f) no degenerative or other medical conditions or medications that would affect voice, with the exception of seasonal allergies (and their treatment) or laryngopharyngeal reflux (LPR; and its treatment).

  • By clinical evaluation, for students satisfying the self-report criteria: (g) nasal patency sufficient at least unilaterally for the passage of a flexible scope; (h) no history or suspected allergy to any local anesthetic or evidence that a laryngeal exam can be conducted without it; (i) acceptably controllable gag reflex; (j) overall voice quality score < 15 on a 100-mm visual analogue scale, following standardized procedures (see D.2.4.1), together with a total VHI score < 17 and normal larynx (D.2.4.1; "low-starter group"-assuming the subject has indicated normal voice by self report, or overall voice quality score < 20, together with a total VHI score > 25 and either normal larynx or mildly impaired larynx not held to require clinical attention outside the auspices of the protocol(D.2.4.1; "high-starter group")-if the subject has indicated normal voice or at most mild, intermittent voice problems by self report; and (k) normal hearing bilaterally (30 dB at 125, 250, 500, 1000, 2000, 4000, and 8000 Hz in the better ear).

Trial locations and contacts

1 site in 1 country.

United States1 site
  • University of Pittsburgh

    Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 15260

Other trials in United States

About this study

Official title: Prospective Study of Prevention and Treatment of Voice Problems in Teachers

The proposed series addresses the prevention and treatment of voice problems in teachers. Data in the literature clearly identify voice disorders as teachers' primary occupational risk not only in the U.S. but also internationally. Moreover, voice problems constitute a global women's health concern. Until recently, few reports have been available around the treatment of these problems in teachers, and even fewer have addressed the equally important question of prevention. The present studies are conducted within the context of a long-range goal to identify effective intervention methodologies for both the prevention and treatment of voice problems in teachers taking into consideration multicultural and linguistic factors. The present studies will report pragmatic data around the effectiveness of two theoretically-driven approaches to the prevention and treatment of voice problems in teachers, (a) voice hygiene education (VH) and (b) voice hygiene education + voice production training in "resonant voice" (VH+VP, essentially the Lessac-Madsen Resonant Voice Therapy program). Participants will be student teachers in Pittsburgh and Hong Kong, who will be followed from student teaching across their second full year of employment as a professional teacher. The central aims are: [1] to evaluate the effectiveness of VH and VH+VP for the prevention of future voice problems in student teachers who are vocally healthy at the outset of the protocol, versus the treatment of voice problems in student teachers who already have them at some level; [2] to evaluate the generality of the findings across teachers in the U.S. and China, using appropriate linguistic and cultural adaptations of the interventions; and [3] to evaluate the feasibility of an internet-based voice exercise and reporting program as a supplement to face-to-face interventions. Ergonomic and personal factors will also be evaluated for their differential ability to predict the risk for future voice problems in teachers. The results should be useful at a practical level, and should also lay the groundwork for future studies assessing similar issues around the prevention of voice problems in teachers, in particular as influenced by multicultural factors within the U.S. The results should also be useful for future studies investigating causal pathways in interventions around these problems.

Conditions
Voice Disorder
Being tested
voice hygiene, VH + VP
Keywords
Student teachers with normal or mildly disordered voices
Medical subject headings
Voice Disorders

What participants receive

What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.

  • voice hygieneBehavioural

    subjects will receive voice hygiene training

  • VH + VPBehavioural

    subjects will be trained in voice hygiene and voice production training

Study groups in NCT01199172
Study groupRoleWhat they receive
ControlNo interventionNot described
voice hygieneExperimentalSubjects will receive training in voice hygiene
Receives: Behavioral: voice hygiene
VH + VPExperimentalNot described
Receives: Behavioral: VH + VP

What is being measured

The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.

  1. Voice Handicap Index

    Measured: 5 years

Timeline

From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.

  1. First posted10 Sep 2010 (estimated)
  2. Study startOct 2009
  3. Primary completionOct 2015
  4. Study completionDec 2015

Resources

More details

For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.

Study design
Study type
Interventional
Phase
Phase N/A
Primary purpose
Prevention
Allocation
Randomised
Intervention model
Factorial
Masking
Single blind
Who is masked
Investigator
Enrolment
140 participants (actual)
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT01199172
Sponsor's protocol ID
8567
Other IDs
1R01DC8567-1A2, 1R01DC008567
Acronym
Prevention
Status last verified
Jan 2016
First submitted
21 Oct 2009
Last updated
25 Jan 2016
Results posted
No
Data monitoring committee
Yes

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

A study testing voice hygiene and VH + VP in people with Voice Disorder, run by University of Pittsburgh at 1 site in United States.

The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.

Who may be eligible to take part?

Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.

Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?

The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 25 Jan 2016. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.

Where is the study taking place?

The record lists 1 site in United States. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.

What are the possible benefits and risks?

They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.

Are results available for this study?

The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.

How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?

The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.

What does the primary outcome measure?

Voice Handicap Index (time frame: 5 years). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.

Where can I read the original study information?
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?

No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.

How often is this information updated?

AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 25 Jan 2016.

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