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Abstract

American Sign Language (ASL) interpreters working in Video Relay Service (VRS) call centers experience more occupational stress than interpreters working in community settings, leading to burnout, attrition, and loss of qualified interpreters for the Deaf and hard of hearing community. Case conferencing that incorporates the use of demand control schema (DC-S; Dean & Pollard, 2001) is an emergent strategy that may be effective in decreasing VRS interpreters’ stress and burnout but has yet to be thoroughly studied. The purpose of this exploratory, qualitative case study is to understand how participation in an adapted DC-S case conferencing group assisted VRS interpreters reducing occupational stress and attrition in VRS. Data from this study yielded four major themes: (1) reduction of occupational stress, (2) application of skills learned in groups, (3) integration into practice, and (4) retention in VRS. Although not a distinct theme, improvement in call center culture emerged as an additional finding. Our findings suggest that case conferencing is a helpful strategy to manage stressors that are unique to working in VRS and can promote interpreter retention.

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