Exploring Attitudes of Indian Classical Singers Toward Seeking Vocal Health Care

Objective The attitude of Indian classical singers toward seeking vocal health care is a dimension yet to be explored. The current study was aimed to determine the attitudes of these singers toward seeking vocal health care and further understand the influence of age and gender. Study design Cross-sectional. Method A 10-item self-report questionnaire adapted from a study on contemporary commercial music singers was used. An additional question was added to ask if the singer was aware about the profession and role of speech-language pathologists (SLPs). The questionnaire was administered on 55 randomly selected self-identified trained Indian classical singers who rated the items using a five-point Likert scale. Demographic variables were summarized using descriptive statistics and t test was used to compare the mean scores between genders and age groups. Results Of the singers, 78.2% were likely to see a doctor for heath-related problems, whereas 81.8% were unlikely to seek medical care for voice-related problems; the difference was statistically significant (P < 0.001). Responses for the questions assessing the attitudes toward findings from medical examination by a specialist revealed a statistically significant difference (P = 0.02) between the genders. Age did not have a significant influence on the responses. Only 23.6% of the respondents were aware about the profession and the role of SLPs. Conclusion The findings are in tune with western literature reporting hesitation of singers toward seeking vocal health care and draws attention of SLPs to promote their role in vocal health awareness and management.