This is a systematic review of studies that analyze QoL in sign language interpreters. The review was registered in the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO) database [9] with registration number CRD42020181573. This protocol was structured according to the guidelines of the Preferred Report Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Protocols (PRISMA-P) [10] (see Additional file 1).
The guiding question of this study was: do sign language interpreters have an impact, positive or negative, on the perception of quality of life due to their professional performance?
Eligibility criteria
The studies will be selected according to the criteria described below:
Participants
Studies with people of both sexes, with or without pathologies.
Study designs
Only observational studies that used generic or specific QoL tools should be included. Qualitative studies will be excluded.
Interventions or exposure
Professionals who are sign language interpreters. Exclusion of other professionals.
Comparators
Not applicable.
Outcomes
Primary outcome
The main outcome to be considered are the QoL indicators described in the studies according to the domains of the psychometric instruments used for QoL analysis.
Secondary outcomes
Secondary outcomes will not be considered in this review.
Search methods
The terms that will be used in the search were consulted in the Health Sciences Descriptors (DeCS) [11] and Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) [12],
Searches will be conducted in the following databases: Latin American and Caribbean Health Sciences Literature (LILACS) [13], Scientific Electronic Library Online (SciELO) [14], ScienceDirect [15], Scopus Elsevier [16], United States National Library of Medicine (PubMED) [17], Web of Science [18]. The search for articles will take place in the year 2020 and no date and language filters will be used in the databases.
The reference lists of the included articles will be analyzed to ensure studies that have not been found by searching the databases. For database searches, the following keywords or search terms will be used: “quality of life" OR "hrqol" OR "health related quality of life" OR "health-related quality of life" OR "life quality" AND "sign language interpreter" OR "Interpreters" OR "Interpreter" OR "Sign Language Translator" OR "Translator”. The data found in the search process will be organized in a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet.
Selection of studies
Two independent reviewers will conduct the search following three phases. After each phase, the authors will check the included and excluded studies and in case of disagreement the authors will analyze and decide on the studies' eligibility for review.
In phase 1, the title of the articles identified by the surveys will be selected according to the following criteria:
Is the study with sign language interpreters? (Yes, it is not clear or not)
Is it a quality of life study? (Yes, it is not clear or not)
In phase 2, the abstracts of the studies selected in phase 1 will be read and selected according to the following criteria:
Is the study with sign language interpreters? (Yes, it is not clear or not)
Is it a quality of life study? (Yes, it is not clear or not)
Is it an observational study? (Yes, it is not clear or not)
Does the study use any validated psychometric instrument for QoL analysis? (Yes, it is not clear or not)
In phase 3, the studies will be read in full and a table will be drawn up with the following information:
Authors' names
Country of origin
Study title
Year of publication of the study
Objective of the study
Analysis tool
Sample Number
Main results
Assessment of study risk bias
Immediately after filling in the information related to phase 3, the authors will present the reasons for exclusion from the studies and thus register in text for later consultation. None of the authors of this review will be blind to the titles of the journals or authors or institutions of study. A study flowchart will be made containing measures, such as identification, screening, eligibility and inclusion of items with quantities, and an explanation of the reason for exclusion.
Additional information from the authors of the included studies will be requested to resolve questions about study eligibility.
Data extraction and management
Using a detailed step-by-step, reviewers will be able to extract studies from the databases independently following the same “path” and organize them in Excel software spreadsheets. The summarized data will include the name of the authors of the studies, title of the journal, date of publication; country of origin of the studies; the assessment instruments of the participants' QoL; socioeconomic profile of sign language interpreters; methodology; details of intervention and results. In case of possible differences found in the QoL tools, they will be analyzed by grouping the same or similar domains of the instruments. The reviewers will resolve any differences. In case of lack of information, the reviewers will contact the authors of the studies that were included in this review via email.
Quality assessment
The evaluation of the methodological quality of the articles will be carried out with instruments from the Joanna Briggs Institute (IJB) [19], according to the design of the selected study.
The classification of the studies will be identified as: “low risk of bias” when more than 80% of the established criteria are reached; “Medium risk of bias” when the criteria fulfilled are between 50% to 80% and “high risk of bias” when less than 50% of the criteria are reached according to the instrument used.
Evidence synthesis
A systematic narrative synthesis will be provided with information presented in the selected studies using tables to summarize and explain the characteristics and results of the included studies (authors; country; title; year of publication; objective; sample; instrument; result).
Dissemination
The results of this review will be submitted in a journal of the same theme, and from the peer review the results will be reported according to the items in the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyzes (PRISMA) [20]. A flow chart will be used to show the selection of articles with the reasons for exclusion. The characteristics of the study and the results will be presented in summary tables. The current protocol follows the rules of PRISMA-P [10].
The results will also be disseminated to the research community and key stakeholders through presentations at relevant academic and non-academic meetings and through social media.