Examining the Impact of Video Modeling Techniques on the Efficacy of Clinical Voice Assessment.

Objectives: The purpose of the current study was to determine whether or not presenting patients with a video model improves efficacy of the assessment as defined by efficiency and decreased variability in trials during the acoustic component of voice evaluations.

Methods: Twenty pediatric participants with a mean age of 7.6 years (SD = 1.50; range = 6-11 years), 32 college-age participants with a mean age of 21.32 years (SD = 1.61; range = 18-30 years), and 17 adult participants with a mean age of 54.29 years (SD = 2.78; range = 50-70 years) were included in the study and divided into experimental and control groups. The experimental group viewed a training video prior to receiving verbal instructions and performing acoustic assessment tasks, whereas the control group received verbal instruction only prior to completing the acoustic assessment. Primary measures included the number of clinician cues required and instructional time. Standard deviations of acoustic measurements (eg, minimum and maximum frequency) were also examined to determine effects on stability.

Results: Individuals in the experimental group required significantly less cues, P = 0.012, compared to the control group. Although some trends were observed in instructional time and stability of measurements, no significant differences were observed.

Conclusions: The findings of this study may be useful for speech-language pathologists in regard to improving assessment of patients' voice disorders with the use of video modeling.