Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
International Conferences on Science and Technology Life Science and Technology, Kotor, Karadağ, 3 - 05 Eylül 2025, ss.10-11, (Özet Bildiri)
Abstract: Coaching is a profession that
inherently requires frequent and intensive voice use. This condition increases
the importance of voice hygiene practices, healthy vocal behaviors, and
knowledge related to vocal health. The present study aimed to evaluate coaches'
levels of voice hygiene, voice use habits, and knowledge concerning vocal
health. A set of assessment tools developed and scored by three certified
speech and language therapists was administered to 30 coaches via Google Forms
in an online format. Data were analyzed using the Shapiro-Wilk test to assess
normality, while relationships between variables were examined with Spearman's
correlation analysis, and gender differences were evaluated using the
Mann-Whitney U test. The participants had a mean age of 30.57 ± 11.36 years;
60% were male (n = 18) and 40% were female (n = 12). Regarding professional
experience, 20% (n = 6) had 1 year or less, 23.3% (n = 7) had 2–5 years, 20% (n
= 6) had 6–10 years, and 36.7% (n = 11) had more than 11 years of experience.
The findings revealed a significant and strong positive correlation between
voice hygiene levels and knowledge of vocal health (r = 0.518, p < 0.05), as
well as a significant positive correlation between years of coaching experience
and voice hygiene levels (r = 0.545, p < 0.05). No significant differences
were found between genders in terms of voice hygiene or knowledge levels (p
> 0.05). Voice-related health issues were reported by 20% of the
participants, including pharyngitis (3.3%), vocal nodules (10%), and hoarseness
(6.7%). The results indicate that coaches’ voice hygiene practices are
significantly associated with their knowledge about vocal health. Furthermore,
increased professional experience appears to enhance awareness of vocal
hygiene. In this context, it is recommended that topics such as voice hygiene
and healthy voice use be systematically integrated into in-service training
programs to support coaches' professional competency and vocal well-being.
Incorporating preventive and protective voice care strategies into professional
education may be effective in reducing the prevalence of voice-related problems
within this occupational group.
Keywords: Voice hygiene, coaches, voice
knowledge, vocal health, speech therapy.