Clinical Trial: Intensive Versus Traditional Voice Therapy

Study Status: Recruiting
Recruit Status: Recruiting
Study Type: Interventional

Official Title: Voice-related Outcomes in Response to Intensive Versus Traditional Therapy Programs

Brief Summary: The purpose of this study is to determine if there are differences in treatment outcomes between traditional voice therapy, performed weekly for a maximum of 6 weeks versus intensive voice therapy, consisting of 4-6 therapy sessions performed within one day.

Detailed Summary:

Voice therapy for dysphonia typically consists of one to two therapy sessions each week with a single clinician for about 8 weeks (Carding, 1999). While the duration of therapy can vary due to a number of factors, the consistent goal of voice therapy is optimal long-term vocal quality and communication function with minimal recurrence. Evidence from clinical trials supports the efficacy of voice therapy for a spectrum of voice disorders in both adults and children in the short term (Ramig L. S., 1998). Yet long-term recurrence rates of dysphonia reported between 51 and 68% (Roy et al 1993 and Gordon et al 1997) and dropout rates documented as high as 65% (Hapner, 2009) indicate that aspects of this service delivery model are not efficient in addressing patient goals. It has been acknowledged that new approaches to therapy should attempt to address multiple factors that impact the individual needs of voice therapy clients to promote improved success in response to voice therapy. Intensive short-term therapy also known as "boot camp" has been suggested as one approach to achieve this (Patel, 2011).

This approach, borrows from the disciplines of neurobiology, exercise physiology, motor learning, and psychotherapy which describe desirable learning and behavior changes influenced by practice that involves high-intensity overload, variability, and specificity of training (Dishman, 2012). Within the field of speech pathology, high intensity therapy has been successfully documented in the treatment of chronic aphasia. Intense therapy over a short duration (3 hours/day) was shown to be more efficient than therapy spread over a longer duration (Pulvermuller, 2001). Similarly, speech therapy for Parkinson disease provided 4 times a week for 4 weeks has been reported to promote maintenance of positive outcomes for up to two years (Ramig L. S., 2001). The "Boot Camp&quo
Sponsor: University of Wisconsin, Madison

Current Primary Outcome:

  • Self-efficacy and readiness scale Changes [ Time Frame: Baseline compared to Immediately post voice therapy ]
    Pre to Post difference in participant's self-efficacy for voice practice and healthy voice technique between therapy groups and within subsets of subjects - readiness ruler of 0 (not at all) to 10 (extremely)
  • Self-efficacy and readiness scale Change [ Time Frame: Baseline compared to 12 weeks post voice therapy ]
    Pre to Post difference in participant's self-efficacy for voice practice and healthy voice technique between therapy groups and within subsets of subjects - readiness ruler of 0 (not at all) to 10 (extremely)


Original Primary Outcome: Same as current

Current Secondary Outcome:

Original Secondary Outcome:

Information By: University of Wisconsin, Madison

Dates:
Date Received: April 18, 2017
Date Started: March 13, 2016
Date Completion: March 12, 2021
Last Updated: April 21, 2017
Last Verified: April 2017