Summary
Introduction
The voice disorder can cause limitations at work, as it affects the communication
and the performance of the teaching function.
Objective
To analyze the limitation at work because of the voice and to examine possible associations
with sociodemographic characteristics, life and health habits and work conditions
among Basic Education teachers in Brazil.
Methods
Cross-sectional epidemiological study, with a representative sample, carried out between
October 2015 and March 2016, with 6,324 teachers working in Basic Education in Brazil.
Data collection was carried out through the application of a questionnaire via telephone
with questions regarding health and working conditions. The “limitation at work because
of the voice” was considered a dependent variable, whose response options were a scale
with four Likert items that varied from frequently to never. The independent variables
were grouped in blocks for ordinal logistic regression analysis with hierarchical
entry. The magnitude of the association was assessed by the Odds Ratio (OR) with the
respective confidence intervals (95% CI).
Results
One third of Brazilian teachers (32.7%) reported some frequency of limitation at work
(sometimes; rarely, frequently) because of the voice at some moment in the month before
the survey and, of these, 5% declared high frequency. The factors that increased the
chance of a greater frequency of limitation at work because of the voice were: being
female (OR = 1.32; 95% CI = 1.15–1.51); teaching for elementary school (OR = 1.35;
95% CI = 1.02–1.78); use anxiolytic or antidepressant medications (OR = 1.46; 95%
CI = 1.20–1.78); losing sleep due to concerns (OR = 1.69; CI = 95% = 1.46–1.95); high
noise at school (OR = 2.09; 95% CI = 1.78–2.46); agitated environment by students'
indiscipline (OR = 1.37; 95% CI =1.15–1.63); high demands at work (OR = 1.18; 95%
CI = 1.02–1.36); not having social support (OR = 1.19; 95% CI = 1.04–1.38); having
suffered verbal violence by the students (OR = 1.43; 95% CI = 1.23–1.67). On the other
hand, the practice of regular physical activity (OR = 0.86; 95% CI = 0.75–1.00) and
the fact of having enough time to complete work tasks (OR = 0.71; 95% CI = 0,62–0.82)
decreased the chance of a higher frequency of limitation at work due to vocal problems.
The perception that the work limits the teaching performance because of the voice
was more frequent among teachers in the North (OR=1.41; 95% CI = 1.17–1.71) and Northeast
(OR=1.46; 95% CI = 1.22–1.76) compared to the Southeast region.
Conclusion
Factors associated with an increase in the chance of higher frequency of reporting
work limitations due to the voice: being female, lack of physical activity, losing
sleep due to concern, using anxiolytic or antidepressant medication, school location
in the North and Northeast, teaching for the elementary school stage, high noise at
school and psychosocial aspects of work organization. The Brazilian educational sector
needs public policies that take into account regional inequalities and the health
and work conditions of teachers.
Key Words
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: November 17, 2020
Accepted:
November 2,
2020
Footnotes
Funding: CNPq. Processo 312805/2013-6.
Identification
Copyright
© 2020 The Voice Foundation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
