Virtual Reality in Teachers' Vocal Motor Behavior Acquisition (VirtuVox)

Voice Disorders Clinical Trial

— VirtuVox  

Official title:

Virtual Reality in Teachers' Vocal Motor Behavior Acquisition (VirtuVox): Randomized Controlled Trial

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Completed

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT04096352
• Other study ID #: VirtuVox2
• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Start date: September 29, 2019
• Est. completion date: February 20, 2020

Study information

• Verified date: April 2020
• Source: University of Liege
• Contact: n/a
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Study type: Interventional

Clinical Trial Summary

Scientific literature supports that teachers are at greater risk for voice disorders than the general population. In the classroom, the teacher's voice represents the main communication tool. Optimal voice use is indispensable to ensure effective teaching and preserve the teacher's vocal health.

This project investigates how virtual reality (VR) facilitates the learning of effective vocal skills and their application in real-world contexts. Based on acoustic analyses and self-assessment scales, the investigators compare 100 future teachers randomly assigned in two groups. The experimental group (n=50) receives a voice training by VR simulations and voice information. The control group (n=50) only receives voice information.

Description:

Experimental group participants receive direct method (three 1-hour sessions of voice training by virtual reality simulations over a course of 3 weeks) and indirect method (one 1-hour session of information on voice function and voice hygiene). Control group participants receive indirect method (one 1-hour session of information on voice function and voice hygiene).

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Completed
• Enrollment: 41
• Est. completion date: February 20, 2020
• Est. primary completion date: February 20, 2020
• Accepts healthy volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers
• Gender: All
• Age group: 18 Years to 40 Years

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

• future teacher having completed at least one internship as a schoolteacher

• speaking French fluently

Exclusion Criteria:

• hearing impairment

• voice pathology at the time of the study

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Virtual Reality Therapy
• Voice Disorders

Intervention

Behavioral:
• Direct Method
Learning effective vocal skills using speech therapy exercises and virtual reality simulations.
• Indirect Method
Information on voice function and voice hygiene.

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
Belgium	Université de Liège	Liège	Wallonia

Sponsors (2)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
University of Liege	Universite du Quebec en Outaouais

Country where clinical trial is conducted

Belgium, 

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Primary	Self-perceived voice changes between the baseline and the end of the intervention	Self-assessment of perceived vocal effort using the Adapted BORG Category Ratio (CR-10) physical exertion scale. On the scale, verbal expressions regarding vocal effort are anchored to the correct positions on a logarithmic ratio scale from zero (No vocal effort at all) to 10 (Maximum vocal effort), according to their quantitative meaning.	3 weeks
Primary	Voice frequency changes between the baseline and the end of the intervention	Acoustic measurements of participants' voice frequency (in hertz) when speaking with and without background noise.	3 weeks
Primary	Voice intensity changes between the baseline and the end of the intervention	Acoustic measurements of participants' voice intensity (in dB) when speaking with and without background noise.	3 weeks
Primary	Voice spectrum changes between the baseline and the end of the intervention	Acoustic measurements of participants' voice spectrum (in Hertz) when speaking with and without background noise.	3 weeks
Primary	Speech rate changes between the baseline and the end of the intervention	Measurements of participants' speech rate (in syllables per second) when speaking with and without background noise.	3 weeks

External Links

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