Doctoral Candidate, Rehabilitation Sciences Elborn College Room 2200 Research Interests: Craniofacial anomalies, communication apprehension and social impact of speech disorders, velopharyngeal insuffciency Agnieszka is a fourth year PhD student in
the Rehabilitation Sciences program. She
obtained her undergraduate and masters degrees from the University of Western
Ontario, graduating with an Honors Bachelor of Health Science, and a Master of
Science (M.Sc.). Agnieszka’s research
interests include investigating quality of life issues in individuals with
speech and voice disorders. Throughout
her masters and PhD work, she has collaborated on several projects covering the
following broad areas: conceptualization
of disability by medical students, quality of life issues following total
laryngectomy, and limitations in social communication in adolescents diagnosed
with a speech resonance disorder. Agnieszka’s
M.Sc. research investigated the social communication of adolescence with speech
and resonance disorders. Her M.Sc.
thesis entitled “An Evaluation of Communication Apprehension in Adolescents
with Velopharyngeal Insufficiency” involved assessing the construct of
communication apprehension (CA).
Specifically, CA can be defined as the level of fear or anxiety that
individuals experience during real or anticipated speaking situations including
talking in small groups or dyadic interactions.
This construct was evaluated in adolescence diagnosed with
velopharyngeal insufficiency (VPI), a voice/resonance disorder that is created
when oral air leaks through the nose during speech production. The goal of this investigation sought to
identify whether individuals with VPI are compromised in their social
functioning, a functional domain that has potential implications for their
overall quality of life. Her PhD thesis
work will continue to investigate psychosocial issues in this clinical
population. In
addition to her thesis work, Agnieszka was involved in several other research
projects over the course of her graduate career. She participated in research addressing the
voice-related quality of life of individuals who have undergone a total laryngectomy. In the first year of her M.Sc. program she
also collaborated on a study with her colleagues exploring how medical students
conceptualize disability using the International Classification of Functioning,
Disability, and Health (ICF) as a framework to describe health and disability. Furthermore, she was also involved in
participating in the initial development of a research project through a
research assistantship; this work focused on issues related to falls in
seniors. Finally, a recent project that
she is involved in includes evaluating the acoustic properties of speech
productions in pediatric voice disorder populations including VPI and vocal
cord paralysis. These projects have led
to a broad array of research concerning the quality of life and social
functioning of individuals with voice disorders. Her continued work in the Voice Production
and Perception Laboratory will elaborate on these areas of research. Dzioba, A., Husein, M., Dworschak-Stokan,
A., & Doyle, P.C. Communication Apprehension in Adolescents with VPI: Is it Related to Speech? [Abstract].
Paper presented at the American Cleft Palate - Craniofacial Association
Conference, March, 2010, Fort Worth, Texas.
Dzioba, A., Husein, M., Dworschak-Stokan,
A., Matic, D., & Doyle, P.C. Acoustic Analysis of Speech Stimuli and
Listener Assessment of Severity Level in Children with Velopharyngeal
Insufficiency. [Abstract]. Paper
presented at the American Academy of Pediatric Otolaryngology Conference,
April, 2010, Las Vegas, Nevada. Dzioba, A., & Skarakis-Doyle, E. A
Review of Childhood Quality of Life Tools Spanning the Ages of 0 to 6 Years
[Abstract]. Poster presented at the
Childhood Quality of Life Conference, Niagara-on-the-Lake, May, 2009. Dzioba, A., Husein, M., Dworschak-Stokan,
A., & Doyle, P.C. Evaluation of Communication Apprehension in Adolescents
with Velopharyngeal Insufficiency [Abstract]. Presented as a
Junior-Investigator at the American Cleft Palate Association Annual Conference,
Scottsdale, Arizona, April, 2009. Dzioba, A., Day, A.M.B., Rasmussen, S.,
Beaudin, P., & Doyle, P.C. Quantifying Voice-Related Quality of Life
Following Total Laryngectomy [Abstract]. Poster presented at the Canadian
Association of Psychosocial Oncology National Conference, Winnipeg, MB, May,
2007. Dzioba, A., Husein, M., & Doyle,
P.C. Evaluation of Communication
Apprehension in Adolescents with Velopharyngeal Insufficiency. [Abstract].
Poster presented at the Health and Rehabilitation Science Research
Forum, London, ON, March, 2008. Dzioba, A., Day, A.M.B., Rasmussen, S.,
Beaudin, P., & Doyle, P.C. Assessing
Voice-Related Quality of Life Following Total Laryngectomy. [Abstract]. Poster presented at the Annual Western Research
Forum, London, ON, March, 2008.Agnieszka Dzioba, M.Sc.
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