Transitioning Voice of Transgender and Gender Diverse People
Conditions
Keywords
Transgender, Voice therapy, Mobile Application
Brief summary
The investigators hypothesize that the mobile application they developed for transgender and gender diverse individuals (TGGD) will be equivalent or better than traditional speech therapy in improving voice quality. The investigators will measure both how the participants feel about their voices and how their voice actually sounds to see if the app is effective.
Detailed description
The ultimate objective of this study is to use Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) methods to develop an effective user-friendly, health literate, inclusive and accessible mobile application (app) to improve access to gender affirming voice modification training for transgender and gender diverse (TGGD) individuals. The immediate objectives are to understand the needs of TGGD individuals in voice care,and identify barriers to creating a pilot app with evidence-based educational content for VCMT and to evaluate subjective and objective voice outcomes of TGGD participants with app use compared to standard behavioral intervention with a speech pathologist.
Interventions
OTHERAttuned: A mobile application
Subjects will undergo voice and communication modification therapy via the Attuned application. This consists of an 11 week program consisting of different modules to learn how to modify voice (e.g., pitch, intonation, resonance). At the end of each module, participants will be given exercises to practice what they learned.
OTHERIn-Person Voice Modification Therapy
Subjects will undergo standard of care in-person voice modification therapy at Ithaca College.
Sponsors
Weill Medical College of Cornell University
Ithaca College
Study design
Allocation
NON_RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
SUPPORTIVE_CARE
Masking
NONE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* Identify as a transgender individual * Be 18 years or older * Be able to read and write in English * Have an iOS or Android Device
Exclusion criteria
* Identify as cisgender * Experience hoarseness * Experiencing any physical pain related to voice use
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Change in Transsexual Voice Questionnaire (TVQ) Scores | Baseline, Week 4, Week 11 | The Transsexual Voice Questionnaire (TVQ) is a 30-item questionnaire that assesses self-perception of voice in transgender individuals. Responses range from (1) rarely or never to (4) usually or always. Scores range from 30 (no perceived voice difficulty) to 120 (high perceived voice difficulty). |
| Change in Transgender Self Evaluation Questionnaire (TSEQ) Scores | Baseline, Week 4, Week 11 | The Transgender Self Evaluation Questionnaire (TSEQ) is a 30-item questionnaire that assesses self perception in transgender and gender diverse individuals. Responses range from (1) never (4) always. Scores range from 30 (low voice satisfaction) to 120 (high voice satisfaction) |
| Change in Fundamental Frequency | Baseline, Week 4, Week 11 | The acoustic measure fundamental frequency will be obtained by analyzing participant's voice recordings via multi-speech acoustic analyses program of Kay-Pentax |
| Change in Formants | Baseline, Week 4, Week 11 | The acoustic measure formants will be obtained by analyzing participant's voice recordings via multi-speech acoustic analyses program of Kay-Pentax |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Usability of Mobile Application as measured by the Mobile Application Rating Scale (MARS) | Week 11 | The Mobile Application Rating Scale (MARS) is a 19-item scale that allows app users to rate the usability of a mobile application. Responses range from 1 (inadequate) to 5 (excellent). Scores range from 19-95 with a score of 19 corresponding to a poor and inadequate app and 95 of an excellent apps with great usability. |
Countries
United States
Contacts
CONTACTAnaïs Rameau, MD
PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATORAnaïs Rameau, MD
Weill Medical College of Cornell University
Outcome results
None listed