ERIC Number: EJ1265628
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2020-Jul
Pages: 9
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1092-4388
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Voice Therapy for Benign Voice Disorders in the Elderly: A Randomized Controlled Trial Comparing Telepractice and Conventional Face-to-Face Therapy
Lin, Feng-Chuan; Chien, Hsin-Yu; Chen, Sheng Hwa; Kao, Yi-Chia; Cheng, Po-Wen; Wang, Chi-Te
Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, v63 n3 p2132-2140 Jul 2020
Purpose: Previous studies have reported that voice therapy via telepractice is useful for patients with nodules and muscle tension dysphonia. Nevertheless, telepractice for elderly patients with voice disorders has not yet been investigated. We conducted this study to examine the hypothesis that voice therapy via telepractice is not inferior to conventional voice therapy. Method: Eighty patients with dysphonia aged more than 55 years participated in this study from September 2016 to June 2018. After screening the inclusion and the exclusion criteria, 69 patients were randomized into telepractice (33 patients) and conventional (36 patients) groups. The outcome measurements included Voice Handicap Index-10, videolaryngostroboscopy, maximum phonation time, auditory-perceptual evaluation, and acoustic analysis. Paired "t" test, Wilcoxon signed-ranks test, and repeated measures analysis of variance were used to examine treatment outcomes. Results: The diagnoses of voice disorders included atrophy (n = 33), unilateral vocal paralysis (n = 13), muscle tension dysphonia (n = 7), nodules (n = 6), and polyps (n = 10). No significant differences were observed in age, sex, and baseline measurements between the two groups. Twenty-five patients in the telepractice group and 24 patients in the control group completed at least four weekly sessions. Significant improvements were observed for all the outcome measures (p < 0.05) in both groups. Improvements in Voice Handicap Index-10 in the telepractice group (24.84 ± 5.49 to 16.80 ± 8.94) were comparable to those in the conventional group (22.17 ± 7.29 to 13.46 ± 9.95, p = 0.764). Other parameters also showed comparable improvements between the two groups without statistically significant differences. Conclusions: This is the first randomized controlled trial comparing telepractice and conventional voice therapy in elderly patients with voice disorders. The results showed that the effectiveness of voice therapy via telepractice was not inferior to that of conventional voice therapy, indicating that telepractice can be used as an alternative to provide voice care for elderly patients with vocal disorders.
Descriptors: Voice Disorders, Speech Therapy, Speech Language Pathology, Telecommunications, Synchronous Communication, Outcomes of Treatment, Older Adults, Patients, Social Media, Assistive Technology, Handheld Devices, Foreign Countries
American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. 2200 Research Blvd #250, Rockville, MD 20850. Tel: 301-296-5700; Fax: 301-296-8580; e-mail: slhr@asha.org; Web site: http://jslhr.pubs.asha.org
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Taiwan
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A