Social Isolation, Anxiety, and Stress Among VRS/VRI Sign Language Interpreters During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Year: 2020
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: The coronavirus pandemic has resulted in increased Video Remote Interpreting (VRI) and increased remote working for interpreters who work in Video Relay Services (VRS) as many have received temporary permission to work from home rather than a central call center. While certain occupational health risks such as stress and burnout for sign language interpreters who work in VRS have been studied, no one has studied general mental health among VRS sign language interpreters under the current pandemic (Dean et al., 2010; Schwenke, 2015; Wessling & Shaw, 2014). This study aimed to collect data on sign language interpreters’ experiences of social isolation, anxiety, and stress, and to identify measures that VRS and VRI companies have implemented to mitigate the impact of the pandemic. An online survey was sent out to sign language interpreters working in VRS/VRI through two organizations’ registries of interpreters. There were 10 respondents. Results showed that many respondents experienced normal levels of stress and anxiety, experienced varying degrees of social isolation, and that their employers have made efforts such as Zoom calls and team group chats to keep respondents connected to colleagues.
Source: DigitalCommons@UNO
Author: Kolten Schnack
Language: English
Topic: COVID-19 and Mental Health
Subfield: Clinical Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W3110936112