Developing Educational Modules to Improve Communication and Vocal Health Among Mask-wearing Healthcare Workers: Phase 2 of the COVID-19 Critical Community Challenge Grant
Trial Snapshot
- Phase
- Not Applicable
- Status
- Completed
- Sponsor
- University of Cincinnati
- Enrollment
- 5
- Locations
- 2
- Primary Endpoint
- Change in amount of Vocal Effort after 1 week
Study Overview
Brief Summary
The purpose of this clinical trial is to understand how viewing educational health modules impacts vocal health behaviors in mask-wearing healthcare workers.
Detailed Description
Results of the investigators' previous work showed that mask-wearing healthcare workers have difficulty with voice and communication. Healthcare workers reported significant increases in vocal effort and dyspnea while wearing masks, and showed greater effort and poorer vocal quality at the end of the workday compared to the beginning of the day. Despite these negative changes, very few healthcare workers reported using any type of communication strategy (e.g., taking breaks, using gestures). Therefore, the investigators developed educational modules to address the voice and communication problems facing this population. This clinical trial plans to evaluate how these educational modules impact subjective/objective voice and communication measures in mask-wearing healthcare workers.
Study Design
- Study Type
- Interventional
- Allocation
- Na
- Intervention Model
- Single Group
- Primary Purpose
- Prevention
- Masking
- None
Eligibility Criteria
- Ages
- 18 Years to — (Adult, Older Adult)
- Sex
- All
- Accepts Healthy Volunteers
- Yes
Inclusion Criteria
- •English Speaker
- •Occupational voice user who is required to wear a mask at work
Exclusion Criteria
- •History of neurological disorder or disease
- •History of head/neck cancer
- •Current speech, language, voice, or hearing problem/disorder
- •Currently sick or have been sick within the last 14 days, or is waiting on a COVID-19 test result
Outcomes
Primary Outcomes
Change in amount of Vocal Effort after 1 week
Time Frame: Assessed prior to module viewing and again 1-week later
A self-perceptual rating of voice exertion and how hard it is to make a voice. The vocal effort scale will be rated on a 100-mm visual analog scale in which the left side (score of 0) indicates "no effort" to produce a voice, and the right side (score of 100) indicates "the most effort" to create a voice.
Learning of Health Information
Time Frame: Assessed immediately after viewing the modules
Answer questions about the content of the module (short answer, multiple choice, true/false)
Secondary Outcomes
- Change in Relative fundamental frequency(Assessed prior to viewing modules, and then 1-week later)
- Module Information Retention(Assessed at second session)
Investigators
Victoria McKenna
Assistant Professor
University of Cincinnati