Psychosocial Assessment of Voice Problems among Saudi Imams

Background and Objective: Imams, who lead prayers for Muslims, are considered among professional voice users. They have high vocal demand during their prayer times, Khutbah, and educating sessions for Muslims. The aim of this study is to explore the prevalence of voice disorders in Imams and to analyze their psychosocial aspects in relation to their profession using the Arabic Voice Handicap Index.

Setting and Design: This is a cross-sectional study.

Subjects and Methods: Arabic Voice Handicap Index-10 (A-VHI-10) and a general voice questionnaire were administered to 93 Imams and 82 control subjects from Riyadh city, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. A-VHI-10 scores were compared between both Imams and the control group. Also, A-VHI scores of Imams were compared considering different variables included in the general questionnaire.

Results: Sixty-five percent of Imams reported voice-related problems. The A-VHI-10 showed significant difference between Imams and the control group for both total score and the three VHI domains; functional, physical, and emotional. However, there was no significant difference between VHI-10 scores of the Imams group when compared considering different job-related variables.

Conclusion: Sixty-five percent of Imams included in the study reported to have voice-related problems. There is a significant difference between Imams and control subjects regarding their self-perception of voice handicap. However, it appears that some psychosocial aspects of Imams’ profession have no significant impact on their voice quality.