A Survey of Voice Care for Students and Professionals in Broadcasting and Hosting Arts Major: A Cross-Sectional Study

Broadcasting and hosting students and professionals rely heavily on voice use, placing them at increased risk for voice symptoms and disorders. This study investigated their knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding voice care to identify their potential needs.

An online questionnaire covering participants' basic information, lifestyle and vocal habits, voice condition, attitudes and practices toward voice care was distributed to broadcasting and hosting arts students and professionals. Spearman's correlation, Mann-Whitney U test, and multiple linear regression were used for analysis (P < 0.05).

A total of 652 valid questionnaires were included in the final analysis. The mean self-rated voice condition score was 7.02. The most frequently reported symptom was "Frequent throat clearing" (32.98%). Self-rated voice condition was moderately negatively correlated with the total number of reported symptoms (Spearman's ρ = -0.429, P < 0.001). Although participants generally demonstrated positive attitudes toward voice care, reflected by a high mean importance score (8.15 ± 1.68), preventive voice care behaviors were not consistently implemented. Multiple linear regression analysis identified alcohol intake frequency, weekly broadcasting and hosting hours, and self-rated voice condition as independent predictors of voice symptom burden. In addition, most participants reported limited access to formal voice care education.

This study revealed that although these participants generally exhibit a positive attitude toward voice care, significant deficiencies remain in their practical implementation. The findings underscore the necessity of providing specialized voice care guidance, with the expectation of safeguarding the vocal well-being of occupational voice users.