ABSTRACT Background Teachers are professional voice users who heavily rely on their voices for communication, making them particularly vulnerable to voice disorders. Research suggests that these disorders can negatively impact teachers' quality of life (QoL), affecting their physical health, emotional well‐being, and job performance. Although a previous review has documented these effects, its outdated scope necessitates a comprehensive update to better understand how voice disorders influence teachers’ QoL across different educational levels and contexts. Aims This systematic review aims to identify studies that quantitatively evaluated the impact of voice disorders on various aspects of QoL in university and school teachers. Methods This review followed the methodological guidelines of the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) Manual for Evidence Synthesis for observational studies and was reported in accordance with the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta‐analyses (PRISMA) checklist. The study protocol was registered in the Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO) (CRD42024618879). Eligible observational studies published between January 2012 and September 2024 were retrieved from PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus, supplemented by manual citation searching. Two independent reviewers screened, extracted, and appraised data using JBI critical appraisal tools. A narrative synthesis was used to summarise the findings. Main Contribution Thirty‐four studies met the inclusion criteria. Most of these studies were cross‐sectional, with one case‐control study, and predominantly focused on school teachers. They employed various validated voice‐specific and generic health‐related QoL assessment tools, with the Voice Handicap Index (VHI) being the most commonly used. Teachers with voice disorders reported significantly lower QoL across all domains, particularly in the physical domain. Greater disorder severity and symptom burden correlated with more pronounced QoL impairment. Teacher characteristics also influenced QoL scores, with female and primary school teachers reporting the poorest outcomes. These QoL reductions were often associated with broader consequences, such as reduced occupational productivity, increased use of medical services, and higher rates of voice‐related work absences. Conclusions & Implications This review indicates that voice disorders are associated with reduced teachers’ QoL, highlighting the importance of early detection, preventive programmes, and individualised therapeutic and workplace interventions to improve voice‐related QoL in teachers. Future research should employ standardised methodologies to enhance comparability and examine the long‐term effects of voice disorders on teachers’ lives. WHAT THIS PAPER ADDS What is already known on the subject Prior research has established that teachers frequently experience voice disorders that adversely affect their quality of life (QoL). However, the extent and nature of this impact have differed across studies, likely due to variations in study populations and methodologies. Moreover, the only previous systematic review provided preliminary insights but was limited by a narrow regional focus and a lack of contemporary evidence. An updated comprehensive systematic review is therefore necessary to synthesize and clarify the currently available evidence. What this study adds to existing knowledge This systematic review provides an updated synthesis of quantitative studies, evaluating the impact of voice disorders on the overall QoL and its specific domains among university and school teachers. It offers a comprehensive analysis of QoL measurement instruments and assesses the methodological rigour of included studies. It clarifies the current state of knowledge and highlights gaps and inconsistencies in the literature. What are the potential or actual clinical implications of this work? The findings of this review can inform the development of targeted voice disorder prevention and intervention strategies for teaching professionals. By understanding which aspects of QoL are most affected by voice disorders, speech‐language pathologists can create more effective, domain‐specific therapeutic approaches. Additionally, this information can guide educational institutions in implementing structural and environmental modifications to protect teachers’ vocal health and minimise the professional, personal, and economic consequences of voice disorders.
Dwikat et al. (Thu,) studied this question.
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