Table 1 Overview of included studies

Alley, E [32].

2014

To investigate the origins of VRS guidelines by reviewing public documents from the Federal Communications Commission and the Americans with Disabilities Act and interpreters’ perceptions of constraints and influences on VRS work.

Interviews with interpreters (n = 4); purposeful sampling; open and closed coding process

Bower, C [33].

2015

To illuminate interpreters’ experiences with stress and burnout in VRS interpreting and to provide ideas to solve this problem.

Survey (n = 395 full responses) snowball sampling

Ehrlich, S. & Vance, K [34].

2015

To explore the concept of direct versus indirect on-demand interpreting, with the goal of developing a framework of considerations when offering on-demand interpreting services.

Case study, pre- and post-survey with the student and the supervisor; convenience sampling

Haualand, H [35].

2014

To discuss how the multiple definitions and ways of organizing videophones within three sociotechnical systems (Norway, Sweden, and the USA) mediate agency and the resulting implications for inclusion and accessibility.

Field study: observations and interviews (formal and informal; n = not defined)

Kushalnagar, P., Paludneviciene, R., & Kushalnagar, R [36].

2019

To investigate the national trends in deaf patients’ satisfaction with the quality of video remote interpreting in healthcare settings and recommend actions to improve video remote interpreting quality and deaf patients’ satisfaction with it in healthcare settings.

Survey, initial survey (n = 968), final user sample (n = 555)

Marks, A [37].

2018

To describe and analyze features of turn management in American Sign Language/ English video relay interpreted calls.

Simulated VRS calls (n = 2), sociolinguistic analysis

Napier, J., & Leneham, M [38].

2011

To investigate whether the use of current technology within the New South Wales (Australia) Department of Justice is appropriate for providing video remote sign language interpreting.

Quasi-experimental design: observation and follow-up interviews; testing five scenarios using scripts

Napier, J., Skinner, R., & Turner, G [39].

2017

To identify common issues facing interpreters when working in remote environments and to ascertain what aspects of interpreting remotely via a video link are working successfully.

Survey of interpreters from 16 different countries (n = 58)

Palmer, J.L., Reynolds, W., & Minor, R [40].

2012

To examine how the use of videophones in the USA affects American Sign Language and what role VRS interpreters play in potential language standardization.

Triangulation:

Qualitative; 2 focus groups with 4 participants in each group (one group with deaf VRS users and the second with VRS interpreters)

Quantitative; one survey for deaf consumers (n = 81) and one survey for interpreters (n = 131)

Roman, G.A., & Samar, V [41].

2015

To identify the parts of the body where video interpreters experience the most musculoskeletal pain and to determine whether ergonomic knowledge is associated with improvements in posture and decreases in complaints of musculoskeletal pain.

Mixed method; pre-treatment survey for interpreters (n = 101), pre-and post-investigation of ergonomic knowledge, posture quality and self-reported pain after a workshop; intervention group (n = 78), control group (n = 23)

Treviño, R., & Quinto-Pozos, D [42].

2018

To investigate how trilingual (American Sign Language, English, and Spanish) interpreters pronounce names that commonly appear in either English or Spanish phonology.

Experimental; demographic questionnaire; two mock videophone calls; semi-structured interviews

(in total n = 20)

Turner, G.H., Napier, J., Skinner, R., & Wheatley, M [43].

2017

To investigate how differences in telecommunication relay in Europe give rise to particular issues affecting how and when deaf people can access and use telecommunication relay and then to identify the perceived advantages and disadvantages of telecommunication relay.

Mixed method; online survey (n = 84), follow-up interviews (n = 7)

Warnicke, C., & Plejert, C [44].

2012

To describe, analyze, and discuss how patterns of turn-taking are administered in Swedish VRS, with a particular focus on techniques and strategies used by the interpreter to manage interactions.

Conversation analysis (CA) of authentic recordings (n = 13)

Warnicke, C., & Plejert, C [45].

2016

To explore the interpreter’s positioning (i.e., how interpreters orient themselves toward interactions) in Swedish VRS on a moment-to-moment basis.

CA of authentic recordings (n = 13)

Warnicke, C., & Plejert, C [15].

2018

To explore how the interpreter is oriented toward the headset, turning it into an interactional resource.

CA of authentic recordings (n = 13)

Wessling, D.M., & Shaw, S [46].

2014

To understand how VRS interpreters perceive their ability to cope with extremely traumatic call content.

Online survey (n = 889) closed and open question for interpreters

Yabe, M. [47]

2020

To identify healthcare providers and deaf/hard of hearing patients’ preferences for remote respective in-person interpreting during critical care and noncritical care.

Online survey: healthcare providers who primarily worked with deaf/hard of hearing patients (n = 26), and deaf/hard of hearing patients (n = 41)

Interviews: healthcare providers (n = 8), deaf/hard of hearing patients (n = 8)