BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVE
Routine clinical voice evaluation is multi-dimensional which includes case history, acoustic analysis, aerodynamic analysis, auditory perceptual evaluation, patient completed outcome measures and laryngeal findings. While studies have been carried out to suggest several vocal tasks for acoustic and auditory perceptual analysis of voice, we do not have a thorough understanding of vocal tasks in their ability to clinically differentiate between individuals with and without voice problems. Thus, the present systematic review is being conducted to identify the vocal tasks being used for distinguishing individuals with voice problems from those without.
METHODOLOGY
A systematic review was conducted on electronic databases and grey literature to identify relevant literature on vocal tasks using suitable key terms. After the removal of duplicates, title and abstract screening were conducted followed by full-text screening using Covidence. Data extraction and critical appraisal were carried out for analysis.
RESULTS
Initially, 11525 studies were identified of which 6532 duplicates were removed. Titles and abstracts of 4992 studies were screened, of which 332 full-texts were retrieved for full-text screening. 197 studies were found to be eligible for data extraction and quality appraisal. Findings are suggestive of a generic use of voice tasks for acoustic and auditory perceptual analysis. The tasks for acoustic analysis include sustained phonation, continuous speech and standard reading passage while those for auditory perceptual evaluation include conversation, standard phrases or passage.
CONCLUSION
The findings of this review will provide a useful evidence-based guide for tasks selection in voice acoustic and auditory perceptual evaluations. This will enable better selection of tasks for clinical and research purposes.