Workers In Singapore Research Articles

Understanding the needs of health care workers in Singapore during the COVID-19 outbreak: A qualitative analysis

BackgroundA successful public health response during the COVID-19 pandemic pivots on the ability of health care workers (HCWs) to work through immense workplace-related physical and psychological pressures.ObjectiveThe aim of current study was to explore support needs of HCWs during the COVID-19 outbreak in Singapore and to identify implications for practice and workplace policies.MethodsA descriptive qualitative approach was adopted in this study. HCWs from a major public health care cluster in Singapore (n = 612) responded to an open-ended question in an online survey. Results were analyzed using content analysis via an inductive approach.ResultsFive main themes that borrows from Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs emerged from content analysis, with 17 categories under the themes. The 5 main themes are: physical needs, safety needs, love and belonging needs, esteem needs and self-actualization needs.ConclusionsFindings from this study indicate that there were many unmet needs among HCWs during the COVID-19 pandemic. An overview of various need areas identified in this study may guide future research and development of interventions to mitigate the negative impact of disease outbreaks on HCWs.

Prevalence and correlates of psychological distress and coronavirus anxiety among hospital essential services workers in Singapore

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected almost all populations, with frontline workers experiencing a higher risk of mental health effects compared to other groups. Although there are several research studies focusing on the mental health effects of the pandemic on healthcare workers, there is little research about its impact on workers in outsourced hospital essential services. This study aims to examine the prevalence and correlates of psychological distress and coronavirus anxiety among staff working in 3 outsourced hospital essential services-housekeeping, porter service and maintenance services. A cross-sectional study was conducted among outsourced hospital essential services workers in a tertiary hospital. Data on demographics, medical history, lifestyle factors, psychosocial factors and mental well-being were collected using self-administered questionnaires. Robust logistic regression was used to determine risk factors associated with psychological distress and dysfunctional anxiety related to COVID-19. A total of 246 hospital essential services workers participated in the study. The prevalence of psychological distress was 24.7%, and dysfunctional anxiety related to COVID-19 was 13.4%. Social support and workplace support were found to be independently associated with a lower risk of psychological distress, and social connectivity was associated with a lower risk of dysfunctional anxiety related to COVID-19. These findings highlight the crucial roles of communities and workplaces in combating the mental health consequences of the pandemic. Public health programmes that aim to tackle the emerging mental health crisis in hospital essential services workers should incorporate strategies to address psychosocial factors, in addition to traditional self-care approaches.

COVID-19 vaccination acceptance of healthcare workers in Singapore

The Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic resulted in 511.0 million cases of confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection and almost 6.2 million deaths globally as of end April 2022.1 With the introduction of vaccines that are effective in reducing severe COVID-19 illnesses and deaths, Singapore had since pivoted from a COVID-19 elimination strategy to a COVID-19 resilient strategy,

COVID-19 pandemic unmasking cardiovascular risk factors and non-communicable diseases among migrant workers: a cross-sectional study in Singapore

ObjectivesThis study aims to report the prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors (CVRFs) and other non-communicable diseases among migrant workers in Singapore admitted for COVID-19 infection, to highlight disease burden and...

Sunday Cinderellas: Dress and the Self-Transformation of Filipina Domestic Workers in Singapore, 1990s–2017

Sunday Cinderellas: Dress and the Self-Transformation of Filipina Domestic Workers in Singapore, 1990s–2017

The intimacy and mobility of Chinese female migrant factory workers in Singapore

The intimacy and mobility of Chinese female migrant factory workers in Singapore

Prevalence and risk factors for depression, anxiety and stress among foreign construction workers in Singapore – a cross-sectional study

Objectives The aim of this study was to establish the prevalence of depression, anxiety and stress among foreign workers in the construction industry in Singapore. Methods This cross-sectional study used convenience sampling to include participants from three construction companies in Singapore that employed blue-collar workers from Bangladesh, China, India, Myanmar,Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippines. The DASS-21 (Depression, Anxiety, Stress Scales) questionnaire was used to determine the occurrence of depression, anxiety and stress in the study population and a demographic and work environment questionnaire was used to account for the additional factors that could influence the personal and workplace characteristics. Results The study included 348 participants. About 29% of the study population exhibited moderate to extremely severe levels of depression, 37% showed moderate to extremely severe levels of anxiety and 33% expressed moderate to extremely severe levels of stress. Ethnicity and lack of awareness of job scope were found to be significant predictors of all three parameters studied, namely, depression, anxiety and stress. Regression analyses revealed that older workers were less prone to anxiety and lack of job clarity was correlated to higher levels of anxiety and stress. Conclusions The findings of this study indicate that all three aspects considered in this study, namely, depression, anxiety and stress are widely prevalent among the foreign construction workers in Singapore and effective measures needs to be put in place in order to reduce the same and provide a safe work environment for them. One measure that can be utilized to reduce the mental illness symptoms is to provide clear indications on the workers’ job scope as that was found to be a significant predictor in this study. Further studies need to be done to figure out other possible intervention measures that could be put in place to improve the mental wellbeing of foreign construction workers in Singapore.

COVID-19 vaccine acceptance and hesitancy among primary healthcare workers in Singapore

BackgroundFactors affecting COVID-19 vaccine acceptance and hesitancy among primary healthcare workers (HCW) remain poorly understood. This study aims to identify factors associated with vaccine acceptance and hesitancy among HCW.MethodsA multi-centre online cross-sectional survey was performed across 6 primary care clinics from May to June 2021, after completion of staff vaccination exercise. Demographics, profession, years working in healthcare, residential status, presence of chronic medical conditions, self-perceived risk of acquiring COVID-19 and previous influenza vaccination were collected. HCW who accepted vaccine were then asked to rank their top 5 reasons for vaccine acceptance; HCW who were vaccine hesitant had to complete the 15-item 5C scale on psychological antecedents of vaccination.ResultsFive hundred fifty seven out of 1182 eligible HCW responded (47.1%). Twenty nine were excluded due to contraindications. Among 528 respondents, vaccine acceptance rate was 94.9% (n = 501). There were no statistically significant differences in COVID-19 vaccine acceptance between sex, age, ethnicity, profession, number of years in healthcare, living alone, presence of chronic diseases, self-perceived risk or previous influenza vaccination. The top 3 reasons for COVID-19 vaccine acceptance ranked by 501 HCW were to protect their family and friends, protect themselves from COVID-19 and due to high risk of acquiring COVID-19 because of their jobs. HCW with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 exposure were 3.4 times more likely to rank ‘high risk at work’ as one of the top reasons for vaccine acceptance (χ2 = 41.9, p < 0.001, OR = 3.38, 95%C.I. 2.32–4.93). High mean scores of ‘Calculation’ (5.79) and low scores for ‘Constraint’ (2.85) for 5C components among vaccine hesitant HCW (n = 27) highlighted that accessibility was not a concern; HCW took time to weigh vaccine benefits and consequences.ConclusionCOVID-19 vaccine hesitancy is a minute issue among Singapore primary HCW, having achieved close to 95% acceptance rate. COVID-19 exposure risk influences vaccine acceptance; time is required for HCW to weigh benefits against the risks. Future studies can focus on settings with higher hesitancy rates, and acceptance of booster vaccinations with the emergence of delta and omicron variants.

Migrant worker recreational centres, accidental diversities and new relationalities in Singapore

How best to integrate migrant workers in host societies has been a longstanding question in the study of migration and globalisation. Scholars have been conceptualising new modes of transnational mobilities that point to the politics of differential inclusion to address encounters between migrants and locals in Asian global cities. This article uses an instructive case study of temporary, low-wage male migrant workers in Singapore and the issue of their recreational spaces to show that the politics of inclusion/exclusion are layered onto the question of integration/segregation. We take integration to mean the incorporation of migrants into local society to give full access to social institutions of protection and care, and inclusion to refer to the acceptance of migrants into social relationships that define urban life. Segregation and exclusion are their respective corollaries. We focus on state-provisioned recreation centres sited near the dormitories, which were expanded to function as segregating spaces to keep migrant workers away from the city after the Little India riot in 2013. We show that they have instead become contact zones producing accidental diversities of urban encounters between migrants, locals and state-linked agents. We discuss how these contact zones have developed differently across the centres built before and after the riot, the transformation of the accidental diversities in the recreational centres by state-linked agents into a new migrant grassroots sector and the ongoing intensification of this during the COVID-19 pandemic. The new relationalities offer the promise of transcending the layered binaries of integration/segregation and inclusion/exclusion.

COVID-19-Related Vaccine Hesitancy among Community Hospitals' Healthcare Workers in Singapore.

COVID-19 has culminated in widespread infections and increased deaths over the last 3 years. In addition, it has also resulted in collateral economic and geopolitical tensions. Vaccination remains one of the cornerstones in the fight against COVID-19. Vaccine hesitancy must be critically evaluated in individual countries to promote vaccine uptake. We describe a survey conducted in three Singapore community hospitals looking at healthcare workers’ vaccine hesitancy and the barriers for its uptake. The online anonymous survey was conducted from March to July 2021 on all staff across three community hospital sites in SingHealth Singapore. The questionnaire was developed following a scoping review and was pilot tested and finalized into a 58-item instrument capturing data on demographics, contextual features, knowledge, attitudes, perceptions, and other vaccine-related factors in the vaccine hesitancy matrix. Logistic regression analysis was employed for all co-variates that are significant in univariate analysis. The response rate was 23.9%, and the vaccine hesitancy prevalence was 48.5% in the initial phase of the pandemic. On logistic regression analysis, only being female, a younger age, not having had a loved one or friend infected with COVID-19 and obtaining information from newspapers were associated with vaccine hesitancy in healthcare workers in Singapore community hospitals.

An exploratory study on the challenges faced by social workers working with transnational families in Singapore

Using semi-structured interviews with social workers in Singapore, this study aimed to identify challenges that social workers face when working with transnational families, and strategies to address those challenges. Systemic barriers, lack of cross-national competency, mismatched cultural beliefs and ethical conflict were prevailing challenges that Singaporean social workers encountered. To overcome these challenges, they turned to their colleagues for peer support and supervision and self-learned about their foreign clients’ home countries. We discuss the importance of social workers’ integration of macro and micro practice skills, cross-national competency and proactive attitudes and creativity for effective service delivery for transnational families.

The Temporal Borders of Transnational Belonging: Aging Migrant Domestic Workers in Singapore

Amidst public debate about the need for migrant domestic workers to assist with eldercare in Asia, we hear little about the futures of the workers themselves. This paper focuses on low-wage migrant domestic workers of different nationalities who have spent decades in Singapore, and how they imagine, prepare for, or avoid discussion of their aging futures. Singapore’s immigration regime enforces mandatory retirement and return migration when domestic workers reach 60 years old. These impending displacements evoke mixed emotions as migrant women re-evaluate questions of care, home, and the relationships they have developed with employers, kin back home, and communities abroad. In this paper, I explore how temporal borders operate alongside spatial borders to shape migrant women’s futures, illuminating uneven intersections between citizenship, gender, and care over the lifecourse. I further trace how the women navigate, ignore, push back, and bridge the anticipated ruptures of temporal borders.

Prevalence of measles antibodies among migrant workers in Singapore: a serological study to identify susceptible population subgroups

BackgroundIn 2019, two clusters of measles cases were reported in migrant worker dormitories in Singapore. We conducted a seroprevalence study to measure the level of susceptibility to measles among migrant workers in Singapore.MethodsOur study involved residual sera of migrant workers from seven Asian countries (Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar and the Philippines) who had participated in a survey between 2016 and 2019. Immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibody levels were first measured using a commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) test kit. Those with equivocal or negative IgG results were further evaluated using plaque reduction neutralization test (PRNT).ResultsA total of 2234 migrant workers aged 20–49 years were included in the study. The overall prevalence of measles IgG antibodies among migrant workers from the seven Asian countries was 90.5% (95% confidence interval 89.2–91.6%). The country-specific seroprevalence ranged from 80.3 to 94.0%. The seroprevalence was significantly higher among migrant workers born in 1965–1989 than those born in 1990–1999 (95.3% vs. 86.6%, p < 0.0005), whereas there was no significant difference by gender (90.8% in men vs. 89.9% in women, p = 0.508). 195 out of 213 samples with equivocal or negative ELISA results were tested positive using PRNT.ConclusionThe IgG seroprevalence in migrant workers was below the herd immunity threshold of 95% for measles. Sporadic outbreaks may occur in susceptible individuals due to high transmissibility of measles virus. Seroprevalence surveys can help identify susceptible subgroups for vaccination.

Disposable kin: Shifting registers of belonging in global care economies

AbstractAs is well discussed in the literature, paid domestic workers become like kin through living with and caring for their employers. Exploring two disparate cases, aging Asian domestic workers in Singapore and African eldercare workers in the United States, the article focuses on two critical junctures when these kin relations are disavowed: the care worker's retirement and the death of a patient. We argue that the flexible registers of kinship that characterize care workers’ relationships with their employers revert, at the end of employment, to fixed notions of kinship based on blood and marriage. These essentialist understandings of kinship arise around inheritance and the worker's care in older age and in illness, enabling employers, states, and private care agencies to avoid post‐employment obligations to domestic workers. The fluctuation between kinship‐as‐doing and kinship‐as‐essence marginalizes domestic workers in a globalized economy as disposable kin, denying their belonging as citizens or social equals.

Seroprevalence of IgG antibodies against diphtheria antitoxin among migrant workers in Singapore, 2016\u20132019

BackgroundSince the last local case of diphtheria in 1992, there had not been any case in Singapore until an autochthonous case was reported in 2017. This fatal diphtheria case of a migrant worker raised concerns about the potential re-emergence of locally transmitted toxigenic diphtheria in Singapore. We conducted a seroprevalence study to assess the immunity levels to diphtheria among migrant workers in Singapore.MethodsResidual sera from migrant workers who hailed from Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar and the Philippines were tested for anti-diphtheria toxoid immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies. These migrant workers previously participated in a survey between 2016 and 2019 and had provided blood samples as part of the survey procedure.ResultsA total of 2176 migrant workers were included in the study. Their overall mean age was 27.1 years (standard deviation 5.0), range was 20–43 years. The proportion having at least basic protection against diphtheria (antitoxin titres ≥ 0.01 IU/ml) ranged from 77.9% (95% confidence interval [CI] 72.8 – 82.3%) among migrant workers from Bangladesh to 96.7% (95% CI 92.5 – 98.6%) in those hailing from Malaysia. The proportion showing full protection (antitoxin titres ≥ 0.10 IU/ml) ranged from 10.1% (95% CI 6.5 – 15.4%) in Chinese workers to 23.0% (95% CI 17.1 – 30.3%) in Malaysian workers. There were no significant differences in the proportion with at least basic protection across birth cohorts, except for those from Bangladesh where the seroprevalence was significantly lower in younger migrant workers born after 1989.ConclusionsThe proportions having at least basic protection against diphtheria in migrant workers from five out of seven Asian countries (India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar and the Philippines) were higher than 85%, the threshold for diphtheria herd immunity. Seroprevalence surveys should be conducted periodically to assess the level of immunity against diphtheria and other vaccine preventable diseases in migrant worker population, so that appropriate interventions such as booster vaccination can be implemented proactively to prevent sporadic outbreaks.

AB045. Chronic disease knowledge among migrant workers in Singapore

Background: Chronic disease knowledge can influence an individual’s ability to effectively prevent and manage metabolic diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, and hyperlipidemia. Migrant workers in Singapore, an under-resourced population with high levels of undiagnosed chronic disease, may benefit from chronic disease education and outreach efforts. This exploratory pilot study examines the distribution of chronic disease knowledge amongst migrant workers in Singapore by using a convenience sample of individuals visiting a migrant worker healthcare center.

AB018. Social vulnerability, stressors and adaptive strategies among migrant workers in Singapore

AB018. Social vulnerability, stressors and adaptive strategies among migrant workers in Singapore

Anerkennung und ontologische (Un-)Sicherheit von migrantischen Care-Arbeiterinnen in Singapur: Zur Bedeutung von Sichtbarkeit und Zugehörigkeit

Abstract. Migrant domestic workers in Singapore are situated in a highly hierarchical environment, requiring them to live and work in the same place. This spatial situation leads to a lack of space and time for the female workers which challenges their psychosocial well-being. We ask how the women, nevertheless, develop psychosocial well-being, based on their recognition and subjective embodied positioning, analytically grasped through the concept of ontological (in)security. Based on qualitative interviews, we show how the workers perceive and produce ontological (in)security through spatial dimensions of visibility and belonging. These dimensions are subjectively embodied in multiple places and networks. On behalf of multiple visibilities and belongings outside the domestic realm, domestic care workers in Singapore are able to actively produce ontological security and strengthen their psychosocial well-being. The results show the relevance of implementing regulations for the women to have more possibilities in choosing their whereabouts.

Scaled, citizen-led, and public qualitative research: A framework for citizen social science

We propose a framework for citizen social science that brings together three reinforcing elements of a research project – scale, citizen-leadership, and publicness – to improve qualitative research. Our framework was born out of necessity; a desire to involve ordinary citizens, in researching public issues, with limited funding. We illustrate the application of our framework using insights from research we have led, involving first, a series of qualitative studies of state and civil society organizations working on community engagement by three separate years of public policy students; and second, a qualitative study on the system for processing salary and injury disputes for low-waged migrant workers in Singapore conducted by over 100 volunteers and activists. Drawing on a review of the literature and our own experiences, we speak to the advantages and trade-offs of adopting this approach and suggest practical methods for conducting citizen social science.

Occupational Health and Safety Hazards among Workers in Laboratory Animal Research Facilities in Singapore and Philippines

Introduction: All workers, regardless of occupation are vulnerable to various hazards present at work. This study was carried out to determine the commonly encountered occupational hazard of laboratory animal workers in Singapore and the Philippines. Moreover, to determine the percentage of hazard exposure according to the workers’ personal profile, work profile, and frequency of exposure.&#x0D; Methods: All members of the Association for Laboratory Animal Science of Singapore (n=150) and the Philippines (n=130) were invited in an online survey administered anonymously via email. Only those respondents who fulfilled the inclusion criteria (i.e. 18 years old and above and working in direct contact to animals and its environment) were included in the analysis.&#x0D; Results: Laboratory animal workers experienced all hazards identified in the laboratory animal facilities. The three most common hazards encountered by workers based on the mean (M) and median (Mdn) number of exposures were animal-related injuries (M= 1.269, Mdn= 1), ergonomics (M= 1.067, Mdn= 0) and sharp-related injuries (M= 0.885, Mdn=1). There was no significant difference noted between these three hazards when compared to one another. These hazards were consistent regardless of age, gender, education, job, biosafety level of the facility, years of experience and type of animal exposures.&#x0D; Conclusion: Laboratory animal workers in Singapore and the Philippines are exposed to various hazards in the workplace. Younger workers, and workers with higher day-to-day exposure to laboratory animals, should be prioritized for information dissemination, training, and supervision.