Hauck, Jonas and Gegner, Christian and Giglberger, Marina and Hilbert, Sven (2025) Effectiveness of a mobile phone application in managing voice health for teachers: A randomized controlled trial. DIGITAL HEALTH, 11: 2055207625. ISSN 2055-2076,
Full text not available from this repository. (Request a copy)Abstract
Objective Teachers are at constant risk of straining their voices due to professional demands, making them more susceptible to voice disorders and therefore increased absenteeism. A widely accessible prevention method would be beneficial, leading to the development of the ReSt mobile application. The aim of this study was to evaluate its effectiveness. Methods A randomized controlled trial was conducted with 399 teachers, allocating 205 participants to the training group and 194 to the control group. Over a 46-day period, participants in the training group engaged with the ReSt app. Outcomes were assessed using self-reports via the Voice Handicap Index (VHI-12) and objective evaluations employing the Dysphonia Severity Index (DSI). Additionally, app use was fully tracked using log data to gain insight into user engagement. Results On average, the training resulted in substantial improvements in the DSI within the training group compared to the control group (gamma=2.22, SE=0.32, p<.001). No training effect was observed concerning the VHI-12 (gamma=-0.39, SE=0.46, p=.388). The average number of days spent opening exercises in the app was 10.57 days (SD = 9.07), and time spent on exercise-related app screens averaged 2.38 hours (SD = 2.79). Conclusions The app appears to have promising effects on physiological measured voice capability, but more training time may be needed to minimize the psychosocial impact of voice problems. Our results mark an important advancement in voice disorder prevention approaches, especially given previously inconclusive evidence for traditional voice training methods.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | DYSPHONIA SEVERITY INDEX; OCCUPATIONAL RISK-FACTORS; SCHOOL TEACHERS; TRAINING-PROGRAM; DISORDERS; PREVALENCE; QUALITY; IMPACT; PARAMETERS; HANDICAP; Prevention; voice health; voice disorders; mHealth; eHealth; teachers; app; randomized control trial; smartphone |
| Subjects: | 100 Philosophy & psychology > 150 Psychology 300 Social sciences > 370 Education |
| Divisions: | Human Sciences > Institut für Psychologie > Lehrstuhl für Psychologie VII (Medizinische Psychologie, Psychologische Diagnostik und Methodenlehre) - Prof. Dr. Brigitte Kudielka Human Sciences > Institut für Bildungswissenschaft > Professur für Methoden der empirischen Bildungsforschung - Prof. Dr. Sven Hilbert Central Institutions > Zentrum für Sprache und Kommunikation (ZSK) |
| Depositing User: | Dr. Gernot Deinzer |
| Date Deposited: | 08 Apr 2026 08:23 |
| Last Modified: | 08 Apr 2026 08:23 |
| URI: | https://pred.uni-regensburg.de/id/eprint/65793 |
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