Dysphonia Risk Screening Protocol for Musical Theatre Actors: a preliminary study

Area of Science:

• Vocal Health
• Performing Arts Medicine
• Speech-Language Pathology

Background:

• Musical theatre actors are susceptible to voice disorders.
• Assessing dysphonia risk is crucial for early intervention.
• Existing screening tools may need adaptation for specific performer populations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce and validate the Dysphonia Risk Screening Protocol for Musical Theatre Actors (DRSP-MTA).
• To assess the applicability and correlation of DRSP-MTA with the General Dysphonia Risk Screening Protocol (G-DRSP).
• To compare dysphonia risk between musical theatre actors with and without vocal complaints.

Main Methods:

• An observational, cross-sectional study involving 34 adult musical theatre actors (students and professionals, with/without vocal complaints).
• Individual administration of DRSP-MTA and G-DRSP questionnaires.
• Statistical analysis to correlate scores and compare groups.

Main Results:

• A high risk of dysphonia was identified in the study population using G-DRSP and DRSP-MTA.
• Moderate, direct correlation found between DRSP-MTA and G-DRSP scores, and with the total risk score.
• Higher G-DRSP scores were observed in actors reporting vocal complaints.

Conclusions:

• DRSP-MTA is feasible, easy to apply, and correlates with G-DRSP and total risk scores.
• The G-DRSP and total risk score effectively differentiated between actors with and without vocal complaints.
• High dysphonia risk is evident in musical theatre actors, particularly those with existing vocal complaints.