Self-Perceived Voice Handicap During COVID19 Compulsory Facemask Use: A Comparative Study Between Portuguese and Spanish Speakers.

ABSTRACT: This study investigates self-perceptions of voice-related handicap as a function of facemask use in the general working population during the COVID19 outbreak, using the Voice Handicap Index (VHI). Each VHI item was answered twice in a row; the first answer referred to the condition of not wearing a facemask (henceforth, the Without condition) and the second to the condition of using a facemask (henceforth, the With condition). VHI scores were collected via Google Forms (Google, Mountain View, California), targeting 2 groups of speakers of different nationalities, Portuguese (n = 261) and Spanish (n = 297). A Wilcoxon test was carried out to compare VHI scores between With and Without conditions for each group of speakers; a Mann-Whitney U test was used to compare groups within each condit

SUBMITTER: Polo N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8403057 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature