Fotobiomodulação aplicada à voz: consenso baseado na opinião dos fonoaudiólogos brasileiros pelo método Delphi

Abstract

Introduction: Photobiomodulation is a therapeutic resource that has attracted the interest of many health professionals. Currently used in clinical practice and studied and revised in the academic context, it is a non-invasive procedure that promotes biostimulation in the irradiated area through the stimulation of cellular processes. It has been used as one of the vocal therapy strategies, both for the rehabilitation of dysphonic individuals and for the training/conditioning of the professional voice. Objectives: (1) to show the profile of Brazilian speech therapists and their knowledge and interests about photobiomodulation in the area of voice. (2) to develop a consensus with speech therapist experts about the criteria for recommending and using FBM in the context of vocal habilitation and rehabilitation using the Delphi method. Methodology: Dissertation structured in two articles (1) observational, transversal and quantitative study, carried out through a websurvey hosted on the digital platform Google Forms, comprising questions related to training, professional performance and knowledge about photobiomodulation in the area of voice. 29 speech therapists participated, of both genders. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. (2) The Delphi technique was used because it is a systematic way to obtain consensus on a given topic from a panel of independent experts, employed to investigate issues with minimal empirical data. A total of 07 experts participated in the Delphi rounds, in which all were speech therapists who were specialists in voice and participated in two Delphi rounds. Experts were recruited to cover a variety of knowledge in various types of voice, structural, behavioral and neurological disorders. Results: (1) Speech-Language Pathologists predominantly had a specialization in Speech-Language Pathology, most of them do not teach at undergraduate or graduate level. All research participants know the precepts of Photobiomodulation; among them, 28 (96.6%) know its use specifically in the area of voice; 25 (86.2%) have a private device and all of them usually use it in their clinical voice practice. As for the use of FBM by speech therapists, most use FBM in cases of improvement/conditioning of singing voice. (2) in the first round it was possible to observe agreements in some items, the experts stated that FBM is a therapeutic strategy that can be associated with speech therapy, a facilitator for voice therapy, effecting vocal habilitation and rehabilitation effects, in the second round 10 statements reached 100% agreement related to the indication of FBM for use in the voice area, the application of FBM at the beginning of the vocal rehabilitation process, the use of FBM in voice professionals without dysphonia, and use this resource to reduce the symptoms of vocal fatigue. Conclusion: (1) the speech therapists participating in the study denoted to present information about photobiomodulation and its applicability to the area of voice and listed that the speech therapist specialist in voice can use photobiomodulation. (2) this study was the first to investigate the opinion of speech therapists specialized in the field of voice regarding the use of FBM in clinical vocal practice. Delphi. In this context, the results found in this research provide a scientific evidence base to support this procedure in voice therapy, specifically, regarding the approach to vocal improvement/conditioning.