The "Singing-It-Safe" Program: Implementation and Evaluation of a Vocal Health Education Program for Australian...

Singers are more likely to experience voice problems compared with the general population, highlighting the need for a tailored vocal health program. The Singing-it-Safe program was codesigned with voice teachers, tertiary singing students, and speech pathologists through two national eDelphi rounds.

This study implements and evaluates the "Singing-it-Safe" vocal health education program for tertiary singers in Australia.

The program was delivered face-to-face at an Australian Conservatorium to UG voice students. Singing students completed surveys before and after the delivery of the program using continuous rating scale questions and open responses mapped to the Kirkpatrick Model of program evaluation. Pre- and post-survey responses were analyzed using the Rank-Biserial Correlation test. Qualitative data were examined thematically.

Students demonstrated high levels of satisfaction and engagement (Level 1: Reaction) as they found content engaging and easy to understand. Post program, they were motivated to change their thoughts and decision-making around vocal behaviors, and their confidence in vocal health knowledge improved. Students demonstrated greater awareness of vocal health support services and ongoing learning.

Findings contribute to literature on vocal health education and can support educators, health professionals, and researchers implementing education programs for singers during conservatorium training. The small post-program sample size and predominantly classical genre of the cohort limits generalizability of these results. Improving singing students' awareness of healthy vocal behaviors and vocal health literacy will support long and healthy performance careers.