Absenteeism due to voice disorders in teachers: literature review, 2005-2015

Abstract

Objective: To identify results in the literature concerning absences practiced by teachers which
were assigned to voice disorders and associated factors. Methods: Literature review of scientific articles
in Portuguese, English and Spanish (2005-2015). Results: 15 cross-sectional and quantitative articles
were found which were carried out in Latin America, Europe, Asia and North America who used as main
data collection instrument the self-filling questionnaire. In addition to absences from work the authors
examined the prevalence of voice disorders among teachers and their relation with social, economic and
health aspects. The frequency of work-related absences for voice disorders ranged from 3.5% to 63%. The
factors associated with these faults were: female gender, vocal complaint during professional training,
having witnessed episodes of classroom violence, depression or anxiety, respiratory problems, impact
and severity of voice disorders in teacher quality of life. Conclusion: There is a considerable increase
in scientific publications on the subject, but there are still gaps in prevalence and associated factors. The
large variation in the frequency of work-related absences due to voice disorders found in the studies may
be related to the methodology used (reference period) to investigate it. Searching for consensus on the
research protocol will allow the comparison of the results. Socio-demographic, health and work-related
factors associated with lack of work due to voice show the complexity of the event studied and allow
the identification of elements for the elaboration of preventive actions aimed at the health of teachers.