'It really is quite a different ballgame'. A qualitative study into the work experiences of remote support professionals.
Miriam Zaagsma, Mark H M Koning, Karin M Volkers and 2 others
PMID 35474394WHAT IT FOUND
Remote support workers for people with intellectual disabilities said distance pushed them to coach rather than do tasks, but made it hard to see the whole situation, especially on audio calls.
They relied on team consistency and fast switching between unexpected contacts.
Key findings
01Workers said the physical distance made them coach the people they supported toward independence instead of taking over tasks.
02Audio-only contacts were felt to risk missing nonverbal signals that matter for understanding the person.
03Unplanned contacts meant workers could not prepare and had to switch quickly between calls.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
The study is based on interviews with 10 workers from one service, so it describes their experiences rather than patient outcomes or service effectiveness. Many findings are tied to DigiContact's specific setup, including 24/7 availability, no fixed worker-user pairing, unplanned calls, and a special half-mirrored glass panel that simulates eye contact on video. Most participants had previous onsite support experience (90% of the sample), so the study cannot say how remote workers without onsite experience would manage. The interviews focused on support for independently living people with intellectual disabilities, although the service also supported people in accommodation, early-stage dementia, and mental health problems. Purposive and convenience sampling with a small final sample limits how far the themes can be applied to other remote support services.
Declared interests
The authors state that the funder did not intervene in study design, data collection, analysis, interpretation, writing, or submission. The study was part of the first author's dissertation research project.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read these themes as proof that remote support improves independence or communication. The study reports 10 support workers' experiences in one service, not patient results.