Vocal fatigue among nurses working in hos pitals of Mangalore

Abstract

Vocal fatigue is outlined as a negative vocal adaptation that happens as a consequence of prolonged voice use. The prolonged voice use can result in vocal fatigue, causing a weak voice. Nurses are skilled persons to care for the sick or infirm and are considered as Grade-III Professional voice users, for whom a severe voice problem would interfere in their job performance. Hence, our study aimed at understanding the self-perceived vocal fatigue among nurses. A pilot study with convenience sampling was administered on 45 working nurses within the age group of 22–50 years. The participants had an average work experience of 3–4 years. In order to understand the vocal fatigue among participants, Vocal Fatigue Index, questionnaire was administered along with few additional questions. The results showed that 41.17% of the participants had moderate vocal fatigue after voice usage. The study revealed that 3.5% of the participants had severe fatigue where they complained of dryness and weak voice after voice usage. It was identified that 33.12% of the participants had no vocal complaints. This study was conducted to give an insight into the less focused problems of voice use in nurses. The overall result shows that voice is not a significant concern of this profession, but it cannot be ignored as well.