Forms Of Care Work Research Articles

What good is anthropology?: Care work in a "useless" discipline.

Different forms of care work are essential for the practice of anthropology in South Africa. In this biographical commentary, I describe how I enacted care work in my anthropological practice. I suggest that what is good about anthropology is its potential to be attentive to the multiple ways in which care work is enacted by us as anthropologists, as teachers of the discipline, as well as by our interlocutors.

SOCIALIZING CARE FOR OLDER PEOPLE ACROSS THE COUNTRIES: A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF THE LOCATION OF CARE

Abstract As more people are likely to prefer to age in their own place, where and how the care in later life is provided become more important. This paper aims to compare the degree of socialization in care for older people among different countries, especially focusing on the location of care (i.e., home care and institutional care). We applied the Fuzzy-set Ideal Type Analysis to classify the countries depending on how the formal care is provided between home and institutional settings. Measures of socialization in home care include the national expenditure on home care and the number of formal care workers at home, whereas formal care workers and the number of beds in residential LTC facilities are indicators for socialization in institutional care. The four different types of formal care will be classified: HI where both home and institutional cares are highly socialized; Hi where home care is highly socialized but institutional care is not; hI where institutional care is highly socialized but not home care; and hi where neither are socialized. Results show that Denmark, Australia, and the Netherlands belongs to HI; Japan to Hi, New Zealand, Switzerland, and Germany to hI; and Korea and the United States to hi. Findings suggest that countries with high level of socialization of home care are likely to have a care management system for coordinating and monitoring services. This study provides implications for considering the unique cultural, institutional, and policy contexts among the countries in regards to the degree of socialization of care.

S14: The use of advanced data and sensortechnology in dementia: innovation and implementation

Main AbstractThe use of health care technology to support informal and formal caregivers in decision making for proper guidance of care for people with dementia, is rising over the last decade. For example, (tools within) electronic health records systems, technological devices such as wearables and devices using sensor technology (domotics) are more and more available in health care. Recent developments of artificial intelligence (e.g. machine learning, deep-learning, text mining) can be useful to provide a more advanced use of sensor and other data, and contribute to a better guidance of (person)centered care. However, the use of health care technology (and the data it accumulates) could – when used appropriately and meeting the needs of (in)formal care workers who use this technology- help to relieve the burden of care (in times of lack of staff resources), delay nursing home admission and reduce corresponding costs. Unfortunately, some of these developments, not always meet the needs of care workers and informal caregivers caring for people with dementia.For health care technology to be able to contribute to personalized dementia care, a combination of innovation (novel technology) and implementation is necessary. A wider use of novel technology on a broader scale is necessary to generate impact. For a proper implementation, several factors such as staff opinions that may be reluctant to using novel technology, data safety and ethical issues have to be taken into account. In addition, a proper training guiding the process of implementation is crucial.In this workshop, we will provide several examples of applications in health care based on data usage and sensor technology: (1) the use of (the combination of) qualitative and quantitative data for personalized health care, (2) wearable sensors to measure stress, a phenomenon that is regarded as an early warning for the onset of challenging behavior in people with dementia, (3) combination of ambient and body mounted sensors to monitor challenging behavior and to prevent further deterioration, (4) the practical use of communication, tracking and sensor technology to support welfare to people with dementia and caregivers in the community.In conclusion, this symposium will give insight in the challenges of designing novel technology and its implementation into daily practice, to assist informal and formal cares to be able to deliver person-centered care.

Who cares for creative and cultural workers? The role of intermediaries in Europe’s creative economy

ABSTRACT Who cares for cultural and creative workers (CCWs)? This paper considers the impact of a declined welfare support system across European states on CCWs and investigates the role played by creative intermediaries in providing care for those employed within the sector. Building on both quantitative and qualitative data taken from a range of European creative intermediary organisations, the paper applies Joan Tronto’s politicised framework of care to articulate how work undertaken by intermediaries can be understood as a form of care work. The findings highlight the range of creative intermediaries working to support CCWs across Europe and illustrates their role in conducting research on the sector in response to the lack of available robust data at a more official governance level. It explores how these organisations are filling both a welfare and knowledge gap however, that this support is ad hoc, supported by various funding models which place the intermediary organisations themselves in a precarious position. In response to this, the paper calls for investment in collaborations between higher education, policy makers and creative intermediaries to strengthen support for CCWs.

Listening for the ‘I’ in infrastructure (and community) repair

Infrastructure work and maintenance are forms of care work as they involve the upkeep and repair of systems that sustain communities. We explore a global experiment of digital infrastructure stewardship and collective imagination called Solar Protocol: a network of solar-powered servers distributed around the globe. Through Sam, a dedicated maintenance worker in the Kalinago Territory in Dominica, we examine a journey through renewable energy technologies and community infrastructure in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria. The Solar Protocol network was created as a provocation and social invitation into collective stewardship and into rethinking planetary limits and environmental rhythms as creative opportunities rather than constraints. By using the Listening Guide (LG), a qualitative and relational research method focused on uncovering how people navigate human experiences, we explore the emotional aspects, challenges and motivations associated with caring for and with infrastructure. We demonstrate how the LG sheds light on the nuanced and complex emotional landscape of individuals and communities involved in digital stewardship work.

Homely Orderings in Times of Stay-At-Home Measures

The stay-at-home measures imposed by governments to counteract the COVID-19 pandemic have drawn attention to the domestic sphere. Besides spending much more time at home in general, people also required the private sphere to fulfill multiple functions, including as workplaces, schools, and fitness centers. Within a qualitative social research framework, the paper examines how people in Vienna, Austria re-ordered their homes during lockdowns to address these challenges. We discuss ordering work as a form of care work regarding the home’s conception, realization and maintenance, and understand the home as being produced in and through practices, including ordering practices. In particular, we are interested in whether and how ordering practices gained higher significance during the pandemic, and in how—by reordering their homes—people re-negotiated their social relations and the inequalities connected to care work and the home.

On Second Thought

On Second Thought

Factors Affecting the Job Satisfaction of Caregivers in a Home-Based Elderly Care Program.

Population aging has increased the demand for elderly care worldwide. The home-based elderly care system plays an important role in meeting this demand in developing countries. The quality of home-based elderly care is associated with the job satisfaction of caregivers in home-based elderly care programs, which has rarely been studied. This paper explores the factors that affect the job satisfaction of these elderly caregivers, including personal characteristics, working conditions, employment status, training, caregiver–client relationships, welfare, work experience, and burnout. It utilizes data from the Shanghai Domestic-work Professionalization Survey (SDPS), which was conducted among four types of in-home caregivers (n = 1000) in Shanghai over the period from May to September 2021. This paper selected a sample of elderly caregivers (n = 285) to examine their job satisfaction. The results show that gender, age, marital status, how they earned the job, relation with clients, social insurance, and work experience are significantly associated with the job satisfaction of in-home elderly caregivers, and their job satisfaction is negatively associated with their burnout levels. However, training and working conditions have no significant effect on the job satisfaction of in-home elderly caregivers, which is different from previous studies on formal care workers, such as nurses, in the institutional care system.

Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Social Robot by Family Caregivers Nursing for the Older Adult with Cognitive Impairment: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Purpose: This study aimed to examine the effectiveness of social robots. When social robots are used by older adults with cognitive impairment, whether the care burden of family caregivers with cognitive impairment decreased, and if there is a change in personal and role strain.Methods: This study conducted a randomized controlled trial to examine the reduction in care burden (role strain, personal strain) of 27 family caregivers under the age of 60 after having older people with cognitive impairment use social robots at home for 6 weeks. For analysis, the Mann-Whitney U-test and Wilcoxon signed rank test were performed using SPSS version 26.Results: The pre-post survey result presented that care burden was not statistically significant but decreased in the experimental group (Z=-0.699, p=.485). Role strain, one of the sub-questions of care burden, presented a statistically significant reduction effect in the experimental group (Z=-2.031, p=.042). However, there was no statistically significant change in personal strain in both groups.Conclusion: The results of this study suggest the necessity of providing information reflecting the needs of family caregivers using social robots. In addition, the results present a way to respond to emergencies utilizing social robots’ monitoring functions and reduce family caregivers’ care burdens by offering services such as counseling and self-help groups. Furthermore, related organizations must educate formal and informal care workers on social robots.

Pivotal care practices: Care ethics in inclusive arts-based research with people labelled/with intellectual disability during the COVID-19 pandemic

In this article, we aim to illustrate how inclusive research can be situated as a form of care work. We do this through addressing tensions and possibilities arising in an ongoing arts-based community-research project – DiStory, Then and Now. We discuss the design of the project along with critical, philosophical, and ethical foundations that drive decision-making and shifts in methodology in response to COVID-19 pandemic restrictions. We argue that understanding inclusive research as care work is vital, particularly in pandemic times where complex socio-political contexts threaten the social survival of individuals and communities that have traditionally been excluded from knowledge creation projects. Our efforts to counter epistemic violence through practices of care are critically considered alongside tensions emerging in connection with physical contact restrictions combined with technology barriers experienced by many of our group members.

Care-Arbeit und Care-Berufe

Abstract Care work can be provided in various forms and in differing institutional settings, ranging from private households over social networks and charitable organizations to public or private entities employing professional care persons. All these forms of care work create a value-added, but are subject to very different economic conditions. Focusing on professional care and building on German micro-data, the article shows preliminary evidence that there might be a »care wage-gap«, i.e., a systematic disadvantage of care workers compared to other professions in terms of their remuneration. It points out how this presumption could be thoroughly scrutinized and suggests possible reasons - among other things, the existence of informal care - that could be tested in subsequent steps.

Socioeconomic Factors Related to Job Satisfaction among Formal Care Workers in Nursing Homes for Older Dependent Adults.

Population ageing is increasing the demand for dependent care. Aged care nursing homes are facilities that provide formal care for dependent older persons. Determining the level of job satisfaction among workers in nursing homes and the associated factors is key to enhancing their well-being and the quality of care. A cross-sectional survey was administered online to nursing home workers (n = 256) in an inland region of Spain over the period from February to May 2017. The questionnaire collected data on sociodemographic variables and others related to training and job satisfaction. The results show that most of the care is delivered by women with a medium level of education. A total of 68% of workers had received formal training, although a significant percentage (65%) thought this was not useful. The highest level of satisfaction was found to be related to users and co-workers. Our factor analysis revealed that the satisfaction components are decision-making, working conditions—e.g., schedule—and the work environment—e.g., relationship with coworkers—. Length of service and working with highly dependent persons are negatively associated with these components. Working in social health care is negatively related to decision-making and working conditions. Training, in contrast, is positively associated with these components. Care is a job that requires appropriate training and preparation to provide quality assistance and to guarantee workers’ well-being.

A feminist public sociology of the pandemic: Interviewing about a crisis, during a crisis

AbstractWidespread school closures due to the coronavirus‐2019 (COVID‐19) pandemic have left US parents—especially mothers—doing increasing amounts of family labor as they oversee their children's remote learning. In this article, I reflect on the process of interviewing 112 US parents, primarily mothers, about their experiences of pandemic‐related school closures, amidst the pandemic itself. These interviews were largely intensely emotional experiences. I reflect on the emotions of both respondents and researcher to argue that carrying out such interviews in the midst of a crisis can function as a form of care work. I propose the idea of a feminist public sociology of the pandemic that has three primary aims: bearing witness to the experiences of those impacted by the pandemic, making a record of those experiences, and helping scholars and the public to think about the pandemic sociologically, ideally in such a way that will aid in the creation of policy responses that address and reduce this suffering.

Capacitating care: Activist anthropology in ethnographies of gender‐based violence

AbstractIn ethnographic analyses of gender‐based violence (GBV), anthropologists working on the front‐lines of advocacy and service delivery have increasingly adopted dual roles as activists and researchers. While these positionings have allowed for alternative fields of vision in the ethnographic process, less attention has been dedicated to what these roles do ethnographically, and the kinds of skills and core competencies advocacy roles teach us as feminist anthropologists. If front‐line work has become a tacit best practice of ethnographies in contexts of GBV, then we must ask what kinds of training and preparation is necessary for contemporary anthropologists who want to pursue research among survivors or care providers responding to conditions of violence. I propose that we need to develop capacity‐building strategies that more transparently address these implicit best practices as part of our feminist ethics of care. This investment in capacitating care would acknowledge the moral compulsion to research the experiences and needs of survivor populations, while also considering how we equip ourselves to respond to the specialized needs of survivors, and the forms of care work with survivors necessitates.

Suicidal behavior risks during adolescent pregnancy in a low-resource setting: A qualitative study.

Suicide is one of the most common causes of death among female adolescents. A greater risk is seen among adolescent mothers who become pregnant outside marriage and consider suicide as the solution to unresolved problems. We aimed to investigate the factors associated with suicidal behavior among adolescent pregnant mothers in Kenya. A total of 27 Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) and 8 Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) were conducted in a rural setting (Makueni County) in Kenya. The study participants consisted of formal health care workers and informal health care providers (traditional birth attendants and community health workers), adolescent and adult pregnant and post-natal (up to six weeks post-delivery) women including first-time adolescent mothers, and caregivers (husbands and/or mothers-in-law of pregnant women) and local key opinion leaders. The qualitative data was analyzed using Qualitative Solution for Research (QSR) NVivo version 10. Five themes associated with suicidal behavior risk among adolescent mothers emerged from this study. These included: (i) poverty, (ii) intimate partner violence (IPV), (iii) family rejection, (iv) social isolation and stigma from the community, and (v) chronic physical illnesses. Low economic status was associated with hopelessness and suicidal ideation. IPV was related to drug abuse (especially alcohol) by the male partner, predisposing the adolescent mothers to suicidal ideation. Rejection by parents and isolation by peers at school; and diagnosis of a chronic illness such as HIV/AIDS were other contributing factors to suicidal behavior in adolescent mothers. Improved social relations, economic and health circumstances of adolescent mothers can lead to reduction of suicidal behaviour. Therefore, concerted efforts by stakeholders including family members, community leaders, health care workers and policy makers should explore ways of addressing IPV, economic empowerment and access to youth friendly health care centers for chronic physical illnesses. Prevention strategies should include monitoring for suicidal behavior risks during pregnancy in both community and health care settings. Additionally, utilizing lay workers in conducting dialogue discussions and early screening could address some of the risk factors and reduce pregnancy- related suicide mortality in LMICs.

Think Piece: Working for Living - Popular Education as/at Work for Social-ecological Justice

Drawing on the working lives of popular educators who are striving for socioeconomic and socio-ecological justice, we demonstrate how popular education is a form of care work which is feminised, often undervalued and unrecognised as highly skilled work. It is relational work that aims to forge solidarity with communities and the environment. Given the state of the planet, the radical transformations that are needed, and the future projection of ‘work’ as including the care economy in large measure, we argue that popular education is a generative site for further exploration of research into work and learning. However, to move popular education as work from the margins means to rethink the current economic system of value. Addressing the contradiction that undervalues work for life/living, popular education engages transformative action motivated by a deep sense of solidarity and a focus on imagining alternatives as an act of hope.Keywords: work and learning, popular education, care work, solidarity

Exploring Views on Caregiving for Older Persons among Formal Social Care Workers in Malaysia: A Qualitative Study

Exploring Views on Caregiving for Older Persons among Formal Social Care Workers in Malaysia: A Qualitative Study

'Routine Infrastructuring' as 'Building Everyday Resilience with Technology'

Getting a divorce. Being diagnosed with a disease. Going through a relationship breakup. Living through a natural disaster. All of these events are often life disrupting and debilitating. While some disruptive events are short-lived, some can be a routine part of everyday life. This leads to the question of how people who experience prolonged disruption in their lives build resilience---that is, how do they manage and overcome such events? To explore this question, this paper utilizes a case study approach to explore the use, creation, and re-appropriation of technology across three prolonged disruptions-the Second Gulf War in Iraq, veteran transitions, and the coming out experiences of LGBTQ-identifying people. Using a conceptual frame that brings together routine dynamics and infrastructuring, we find that engaging in routine infrastructuring practices generated resilience in people's daily lives---a phenomenon we dub 'routine infrastructuring' as 'building everyday resilience with technology.' We then theorize properties of infrastructure and infrastructuring practice that enable resiliency, and conclude with how infrastructuring is a form of care work that is oriented towards individuals, communities, and society.

The anti-racist potential of care - political dimensions of women’s engagement in voluntary refugee support work in Germany

ABSTRACTThis article explores the role of gender in volunteering with refugees in Germany and how female volunteers, who outnumber male volunteers considerably, understand their involvement differently from men. Drawing upon quantitative data from two studies with volunteers in refugee work in Germany from 2015 and 2016, I discuss the motivations of female volunteers to engage in refugee support work, the meaning they give to their experience of working with refugees and the values they wish to demonstrate through their voluntary work. The article centrally maintains that refugee support work can be classed as a form of care work and is informed by an ethics and values of care. However, other results unveil that women interpret their care work as an expression of their political attitudes, specifically about anti-racism and anti-right-wing activism, as well, and thereby have recourse to a supposedly male political justification for engaging in volunteering. Thus, this article argues that these two forms of motivation for volunteering, care and politics, do not need to be mutually exclusive. Crucially, voluntary refugee support work represents a unique opportunity for women’s political activism for anti-racism and cultural openness.

On Materiality and Meaning: Ethnographic Engagements with Reuse, Repair & Care

The reimagination and revaluation of discarded goods, through repair and reuse is, for many, a quotidian and mundane element of everyday life. These practices are the historical precedent and continue to be the stuff of common sense for a significant portion of human society. And yet, reuse, repair and other elements of a ‘circular economy’ have recently emerged as a significant focus in environmental and economic policy. Proponents claim that reuse practices represent a potentially radical alternative to mainstream consumer culture and a form of carework that generates new social possibilities and personal affects. This essay explores the myriad dimensions of reuse as care, relational practice and as consumer alternative by examining these practices in their social context, lived experience and as embedded within larger political and economic structures of capitalist accumulation and abandonment. We argue that the study of reuse, in old and new forms, takes on added political significance in an era of environmental and economic crises, especially as a critical part of state-based approaches toward the circular economy that attempt to appropriate carework in new forms of value generation.