Immigrant care workers play an increasingly important role in home and long-term care in Canada, yet the full extent of their relations with older persons in those settings is relatively unknown. This article examines the role of immigrant care workers in both home and long-term care sectors, with a focus on relations with older clients and implications for quality of care. The data are derived from interviews with workers, employers, and older clients conducted in various home and long-term care services for older adults across three Canadian provinces: Ontario, British Columbia, and Quebec. Factors stemming from immigrant care workers' ethnic/racial background, language barriers, and contextual factors such as staff shortage in different care settings for older adults complicate the relationship between immigrant care workers and their clients. In some cases, these factors diminish the quality of care. We point to some policy alternatives that our findings suggest should be considered.
Dans cet article, nous examinons le recrutement et l'emploi de personnel soignant d'origine immigrante dans le secteur des soins offerts aux aînés. Nos données proviennent d'interviews que nous avons réalisées avec 77 travailleurs et 24 employeurs ainsi que d'une enquête réalisée en ligne auprès de 149 employeurs en 2007-2008. Nos résultats montrent que c'est beaucoup grâce aux réseaux sociaux que les travailleurs arrivent dans ce secteur. De plus, bien que les agences de recrutement ne jouent pas un rôle important dans le recrutement et l'emploi de travailleurs immigrants, nous avons observé des cas d'abus, ce qu'une meilleure réglementation pourrait prévenir. Notre étude suggère également que les politiques d'admission des immigrants pourraient être mieux alignées sur les besoins du Canada dans le secteur des soins aux aînés. Mots clés : emploi, recrutement, personnes soignantes immigrantes, CanadaThis paper examines the employment and recruitment of immigrant care workers in the older adult care sector in Canada, based on data from interviews with 77 workers and 24 employers in care settings, as well as from 149 online employer surveys conducted in 2007-08. We find that workers enter this sector largely through social networks. Although recruitment agencies do not play a critical role in the employment and recruitment of immigrant workers, regulation could prevent instances of abuse we found. Our findings also suggest that immigration admission policies could be better aligned with Canada's needs for older adult care.
Canada is unique among the countries included in this volume with regards to the immigration status of care workers; they are much more likely to be immigrants or permanent residents rather than temporary workers (migrants). One program specific to Canada that enables care workers to migrate to Canada is the Live in Caregiver Program (LCP). Through this program workers are able to migrate without having to meet the qualifications of the immigration points system or family sponsorship. One of the key requirements is that they work for at least 24 out of 36 months as a care worker in the home of their client who in turn is their immigration sponsor. Though this has typically been a means to bring in care workers to work with children, increasingly care workers are attending to elderly clients. Interviews we conducted with 19 immigrant care workers in the home and long-term care sector who came to Canada through the LCP, contributed to a broader understanding of the way in which this recent shift in focus can help to address the growing need for care of older persons in their home. However, it has been implemented with little of the additional resources needed for this increasingly complex clientele. This program holds clear potential, but not without it being better customized to meet the needs of older persons and their care workers.
This study examines the differences in mental health experiences of workers in professional and non-professional roles, with a particular focus on the influence of gender. We examine: i) the perceived mental health of a subset of professional workers including accounting, academia, dentistry, medicine, nursing, and teaching, chosen because they represent different gender composition and sectors; and ii) work stress and work absences. Statistical analyses were applied to data from the Canadian Community Health Survey and a related Mental Health and Well-Being survey. Those in the selected professions reported better mental health, higher job satisfaction, and a lower prevalence of mental disorders, but higher self-perceived life and work stress compared to workers in non-professional roles. Workers in these professions reported higher job security and higher job control, but also higher psychological demands. Women in these professions showed significantly higher physical exertion and lower job authority and higher rates of work absences.
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