Live-in Migrant Care Workers Research Articles

Lessons for regulating informal markets and implications for quality assurance – the case of migrant care workers in Austria

ABSTRACTThe rising number of private care arrangements in which live-in migrant care workers are engaged as a functional equivalent to family care calls for special attention by policy makers and formal long-term care providers on their implications for quality assurance and professional standards in the long-term care sector. Austria is one of the first countries in Europe where tangible legal measures have been taken to regulate this area under the heading of ‘24-hour care’, typically provided by middle-aged women. Reform measures went beyond policing and control mechanisms, including also incentives and tangible subsidies for all stakeholders. This paper contributes to a better understanding of their impact on the transition from informal to formal economy, focusing on quality assurance and working conditions. Based on empirical data and findings from semi-structured interviews with relevant stakeholders, a framework for the analysis of ‘illegal markets', based on Beckert and Wehinger's theory, is used to discuss potential implications in terms of valuation, competition and co-operation for policy in Austria, and to draw lessons for other countries. Results indicate that even after efforts to ‘legalise’ migrant care, the sector remains a ‘grey’ area within modern labour market legislation and quality management. This is due to the very nature of personal care, low professional status associated with care work and the reluctance of political stakeholders to regulate private household activities.

Whose Right Is It Anyway? Familiarity with Workers’ Rights Among Older Adults, Family Caregivers, and Migrant Live-In Home Care Workers: Implications for Policy and Practice

Live-in home care provided to older adults blurs the boundaries between private and professional, personal and public matters, and working hours versus off-duty time. As a result, live-in home care workers are at risk for exploitation. The present study examines the extent to which older adults, family members, and migrant live-in care workers are familiar with the rights of migrant live-in care workers. A random stratified sample of adults over the age of 70 who receive home care services was conducted. Overall, 338 migrant live-in care workers, 224 older adults, and 442 family members were interviewed and asked about their knowledge regarding 10 basic migrant live-in workers’ rights. Moderate levels of knowledge regarding migrant live-in care workers’ rights were found. On average, older adults were aware of 4.22 workers’ rights (out of a possible number of 10 rights), whereas family members and migrant live-in care workers were aware of 7.77 and 7.34 rights, respectively. No more than 4% of older adults, 18% of family members, and 10% of migrant live-in care workers were aware of all 10 workers’ rights. It seems that whereas some rights regarding social benefits were well acknowledged, core issues related to the job and to the status of migrant care workers remain unclear. Implications for policy and practice are discussed.

Live-in Migrant Care Workers in Taiwan: The Debate on the Household Service Act

The increasing flow of migrant care workers from poorer to wealthier countries not only reflects care deficits in the latter countries, but also reveals issues concerning the rights and working conditions of migrant care workers. The discussion on the Household Services Act in Taiwan draws attention to the vulnerable and marginalized situation of live-in migrant care workers in society. In this essay, I investigate the debates around legislating the Household Service Act in Taiwan to shed light on the complexities of care work and care relations. By illustrating the care paradoxes and dynamics between care workers and care recipients and their families, I argue that the state has an important role in providing care resources and support to families.

Development of a measure to examine nurses’ attitudes towards the presence of paid carers who provide care to older patients in hospitals

Many older adults who are hospitalised are functionally disabled and/or are cognitively impaired and need help with basic activities. The nursing staff are overloaded with work and families are not always available to look after their hospitalised older family members. Therefore, a growing number of older patients hire paid carers of whom many are migrant live-in care workers who provide them with care at home and in hospitals during hospitalisation. The study was aimed to develop a measure that will examine nursing staff’s attitudes towards these paid carers in hospital wards. The measure that was developed includes two dimensions: negative and positive attitudes. The study was conducted in 10 internal medicine and 4 geriatric wards in two general hospitals in Israel. Participants included 265 nurses. Factor analysis loaded two factors that resembled the two dimensions. The final version of the measure included six positive and six negative items, showed good convergent and divergent validity, and good internal consistency for each of the dimensions. Further studies are needed to examine the measure’s validity and reliability in different cultural and social contexts.

Tasks Performed by Migrant Live-In Care Workers During Hospitalization of Their Older Care Recipients

The goals of the study were to examine: (a) the tasks that migrant live-in care workers are expected to perform and actually perform during the hospitalization of their care recipients, and (b) the factors that explain the level of involvement by care workers in caring for hospitalized care recipients. A sample of 535 dyads of family caregivers and care workers of hospitalized care recipients in two general hospitals in Israel was interviewed. Results showed a high level of congruence between the care workers' and family caregivers' perceptions of the roles that the paid carers should perform. Paid carers' involvement in care provision varied by hospital and type of ward and was best explained by the hospital characteristics and congruence in the care workers' perceived roles. The extensive needs of hospitalized functionally disabled older adults necessitate explicit policies and guidelines regarding private care provided in hospital wards.

What Makes Migrant Live-in Home Care Workers in Elder Care Be Satisfied With Their Job?

The study aims to examine job satisfaction of migrant live-in home care workers who provide care to frail older adults and to examine the extent to which quality of relationships between the care provider and care recipient and workplace characteristics is associated with job satisfaction. A convenience sample that included 335 dyads of Philippine workers and their frail care recipients were recruited through 2 national home care agencies and snowballing. Multiple regression analyses examined the extent to which workplace characteristics, quality of relationships, care recipient characteristics, and care worker characteristics explain job satisfaction. Scores for job satisfaction, quality of relationships, and workplace characteristics were strongly positive. Overall and intrinsic job satisfactions were explained by workers' qualifications, workplace characteristics, and quality of relationships from the perspective of care recipients, whereas satisfaction with benefits was affected by workplace characteristics and quality of relationships from the perspective of the care workers. Findings suggest that workers who were better qualified in terms of more years of formal education and more years as care workers and who reported improved workplace characteristics, in particular more job decision authority and variety, reported increased job satisfaction. Therefore, enabling migrant live-in care workers more job decision authority and variety may increase their job satisfaction. More research is needed to deepen our understanding of additional job-related characteristics that explain job satisfaction among this group of care workers.

Relationships Between Elderly Care Recipients and Their Migrant Live-In Home Care Workers in Israel

In Israel more than 54,000 immigrant live-in home care workers are providing personal care to frail elders. These home care workers emigrate from various countries and different cultures, speak other languages, and have other religions. The purposes of this study were: (a) to examine the patterns of the interpersonal relationships that develop between disabled elderly persons who were being cared for by migrant live-in home care workers, and (b) to explore the factors that best explain the patterns of these relationships. A convenience sample that included 100 frail elderly people was selected and respondents were face-to-face interviewed at their homes, using a structured questionnaire. The findings showed that the relationships that developed between migrant live-in home care workers and elderly care recipients were close and that language was not a significant barrier in establishing close relationships between them. Further, the findings showed that perceived similarity in personal qualities played the most significant role in determining the extent to which the relationships between them will be close. A similar cultural background such as ethnicity, and nonverbal and good understanding, rather than speaking a common language, were significant factors in facilitating close relationships.