Psychological Stress and Vocal Symptoms Among University Professors in Israel: Implications of the Shift to Online Synchronous Teaching During the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Avi Besser, Sari Lotem, Virgil Zeigler-Hill
PMID 32600872WHAT IT FOUND
University professors reported significantly higher psychological stress during the sudden shift to online teaching, but their reported vocal symptoms did not increase.
Stress was strongly linked to vocal symptoms only in those who already had high baseline stress levels.
Key findings
01Participants reported higher stress scores during the transition to online teaching compared to traditional face-to-face teaching, but there was no significant difference in reported vocal symptoms between the two periods.
02The association between current stress and current vocal symptoms was significantly stronger for individuals who reported high levels of general stress during previous teaching periods.
03Professors who reported raising their vocal loudness while teaching online experienced significantly higher levels of both psychological stress and vocal symptoms compared to those who lowered or maintained their loudness.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The study is cross-sectional and relies on self-report, meaning it cannot establish causation between stress and vocal symptoms. Data were collected only one week into the transition, which may be too short a time for participants to notice or report subjective changes in vocal symptoms. The response rate was 22.36%, which may introduce selection bias if more stressed or symptomatic professors were more or less likely to participate. The study used single-item measures for stress, which may lack the depth of validated multi-item scales.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that online teaching worsened vocal symptoms in this group. The study found no significant increase in reported vocal symptoms after one week, only an increase in stress. The association between stress and symptoms was specific to those with high pre-existing stress levels.