Association Between Vocal Symptoms, Communication, Work Environment, and Sense of Coherence in Hospital Health Professionals

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This study aimed to associate the presence of vocal symptoms with sociodemographic and occupational data, work environment self-perception, oral communication wearing a face mask, and the sense of coherence (SOC). This cross-sectional analytical observational study included 66 health professionals from a Brazilian hospital. They answered an online questionnaire on sociodemographic aspects, self-perception of the physical work environment, and oral communication at work. The Voice Symptom Scale (VoiSS) and Sense of Coherence Scale (SOC-13) were also applied. The significance level was set at 5% for the statistical analysis. The self-perception of vocal symptoms was 62%. Professionals who considered the noise in their work environment unsatisfactory had more vocal symptoms (P=0.005), especially in the limitation (P=0.013) and physical (P=0.028) domains of the VoiSS. Professionals with higher self-perceived vocal symptoms also reported incoordination between breathing, speech, and articulation (P=0.041) and self-perceived difficulty being heard with a protective mask (P=0.033). Professionals with a higher self-perceived score in the limitation domain of the VoiSS also had a higher self-perceived effort to speak with a mask (P=0.035) and a higher self-perception that other people find it difficult to hear them with a face mask (P=0.050). There was a weak negative correlation between VoiSS and SOC (P<0.05) and between its domains (P<0.05). Self-perception of voice symptoms is high among health professionals in a Brazilian public hospital. The presence of these symptoms is related to the perception of a noisy work environment and communication difficulties due to the use of a face mask. The lower the ability to cope with stressful situations, the larger the presence of voice symptoms among health professionals.