PURPOSE: to examine possible actions for preventing and promoting vocal health of teachers through the understanding of interactions among vocal, occupational and preventive aspects. METHODS: we developed a qualitative and quantitative study at a public school in the state of Sao Paulo, Brazil, with 26 teachers. This study developed a program to improve voice, which counted on a laryngological examination, a questionnaire application and a preventive intervention-therapy group. To quantify the degree of association between the vocal, occupational and preventive aspects, we used the Chi-square test. RESULTS: it was observed that most teachers (except two) reported some type of complaint related to the use of voice in the profession. Alterations were observed in three of the ten teachers who underwent laryngological examination. Twenty subjects reported some type of stress, and from these, 10 reported vocal stress. Thirteen teachers took part in the intervention group, however, only five completed it. There was a statistically significant association between the quantity of vocal symptoms and participation in the preventive-therapeutic intervention group, showing that teachers with more than three vocal symptoms took part in the group. There was also a trend for association between lack of time and reference to vocal stress. CONCLUSION: we believe that vocal health of teachers is largely related to occupational aspects, even if we did not find statistically significant associations in all investigated. The preventive actions are to capitalize on the importance of multi-or interdisciplinary performances, on the works to raise awareness of the importance of voice in the education process, on the identification and mitigation of risk factors, on vocal enhancement programs and on voice integration among all actors involved with the school.
Occupational Health; Disease Prevention; Health Promotion; Working Conditions; Voice; Public Health
