Relations between Immigrant Care Workers and Older Persons in Home and Long-Term Care

Abstract

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.

‘I Work With my Heart’: Experiences of Migrant Care Workers in a Northern, Rural Context

“…Moreover, several scholars have argued that the growing share of migrant workers may lead to a devaluation of care work, to discrimination in the nurse-patient relationship and hence to a degradation in the quality of care relations (Timonen and Doyle 2010, Bourgeault et al 2010, Browne and Braun 2008, Walsh and O'Shea 2010, Huang, Yeoh, and Toyota 2012. We live in an ageing society where long-term care needs are increasing at a high pace and where the demand for immigrant healthcare workers will continue to grow.…”

“…In recent years, increasing numbers of skilled or professional care workers have also begun migrating to high-income countries (Atanackovic & Bourgeault, 2013;Bourgeault et al, 2010;Browne & Braun, 2008;Ho & Chiang, 2015;Huang et al, 2012;Isaksen, 2012;Ortega et al, 2010;Riemsdijk, 2006Riemsdijk, , 2010Riemsdijk, , 2013Walsh & O'Shea, 2010). One concern for this research has been the difficulty of nurses in having their education transferred to the new home country (Isaksen, 2012;Riemsdijk, 2006).…”

“…Conversely, internationally and not least in the Journal of Population Ageing, the rise of skilled migrant care workers has been widely discussed by highlighting issues such as the role of migrant live-in caregivers (Chowdury & Gutman, 2012;Huang, Yeoh, & Toyota, 2012;Szeman, 2012) as well as the various challenges related to migrants working as care providers in nursing homes and in home-based eldercare (e.g., (Anderson, 2012;Atanackovic & Bourgeault, 2013;Bourgeault, Atanackovic, Rashid, & Parpia, 2010;Browne & Braun, 2008;Cangiano & Shutes, 2010;Ho & Chiang, 2015;Lowell, Martin, & Stone, 2010;Ortega, Carneiro, & Flyvholm, 2010;Timonen & Doyle, 2010;Walsh & O'Shea, 2010). Timonen and Doyle (2010) argue that Western eldercare is suffering from stagnation, poor finances and a lack of personnel.…”

“…relations (Timonen and Doyle 2010, Bourgeault et al 2010, Browne and Braun 2008, Walsh and O'Shea 2010, Huang, Yeoh, and Toyota 2012. To date, the literature has examined the experiences of the professional migrant care workers themselves in a limited way.…”

‘The Elephant on the Table’: Religious and Ethnic Diversity in Home Health Services

“…In a Canadian study, England and Dyck (2011) uncovered how practices of intimate body care (such as bathing, toileting, and catheter management) demonstrate the diverse dynamics of care work through which caregivers, care recipients and homespace are constituted. Specifically, the 'dirty work' of intimate body care is typically assigned to unregulated, lower paid workers who were often from migrant communities (Bourgeault et al, 2010). Other research in Canada shows lower rates of utilization of home health services by immigrant groups, often with families providing more care and with concerns expressed about language barriers and a lack of culturally responsive care (Walsh, 2014).…”