Care workers with migration backgrounds in formal care services in Germany: a multi-level intersectional analysis

2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 209-226 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hildegard Theobald
2021 ◽  
pp. 1-19
Author(s):  
Agnete Meldgaard Hansen

Abstract This paper explores how dignity is articulated and pursued by care workers in two currently prominent policy initiatives seeking to reform Danish care services for older people. Based on ethnographic case studies of ‘reablement’ practices and the use of ‘welfare technologies’, the paper shows how these attempts to create dignified care services transform interactions between care recipients and care workers. The analysis is inspired by a socio-material perspective on dignity as ‘crafted’ and ‘co-laboured’ in daily practices, in an interplay between multiple human and non-human actors. In the cases studied, dignity is articulated as closely related to older people's increasing autonomy and independence of formal care, and is pursued through enhancing care recipients’ self-care ability, and through technological automation of care tasks. However, these articulations and pursuits of dignity do not stand alone. When everyday care practices are closely examined, dignity is also pursued by care workers as increased co-operation and equality between care workers and care recipients, as de-objectification, and as promotion of enjoyment and quality of life. In these practices, care is ambivalently positioned as both a potential threat to dignity, and as a prerequisite to achieving it. The paper concludes by discussing the risks of policy agendas pursuing a narrow understanding of dignity as simply independence of care.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 355-356
Author(s):  
Koji Abe

Abstract Purpose: Recent studies report daily fluctuations in stress among family caregivers of older individuals with dementia. Several studies focused on daily stressors or behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia and use of adult day services. Most previous studies on daily fluctuations of caregivers’ stress have used a daily diary approach. This approach involves creating multiple daily reports, making it possible to examine between-person differences and within-person processes of change. However, only few studies used this approach for family caregivers in Asian countries. Therefore, this study examines the applicability of a daily diary approach for Japanese family caregivers and the effects of formal care services on their stress and depression. Methods: Participants were 13 family caregivers of individuals with dementia using formal care services in a rural area in Japan. They were assessed through self-administered questionnaires including use or nonuse of formal care services, caregiving stressors (DASC-8), depressive symptoms (K-6), and caregiving stress for 7 days. Generalized linear mixed models (GLMM) with data nested within persons were used to examine the effects of formal services on stress and depression. Results: For the GLMM procedure, this study used caregiving stressors and stress variables as fixed effects and participants as random effects. Results indicated that use of formal services significantly lowered caregivers’ stress and depression. Conclusion: The findings demonstrate the applicability of a daily diary approach and the effectiveness of formal services on the stress of Japanese family caregivers.


2017 ◽  
Vol 51 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Priscilla Brandão Bacci Pegoraro ◽  
Rafaela Schaefer ◽  
Elma Lourdes Campos Pavone Zoboli

Abstract OBJECTIVE To report the experience of developing a workshop proposal to assist local managers with the identification, management and prevention of primary care workers' psychic and moral exhaustion. METHOD The workshop was developed through a literature review performed between November 2014 and June 2015. The temporal cut considered studies of the ten previous years. The selection included studies describing collective interventions for situations generating psychic and moral exhaustion, preferably in primary care services. RESULTS Thirty-five articles were analyzed. The workshop provides five meetings with an average duration of one hour. The themes are: awareness; recognizing personal stress; dealing with personal stress; recognizing team stress; and dealing with team stress. The workshop is based on five key principles: detection and coping; attention to interpersonal relationships; communication; self-knowledge and mindfulness. CONCLUSION Psychic and moral exhaustion may reflect negatively on workers' health, the care, and the organization. The proposal of measures to recognize, deal with and prevent psychic and moral exhaustion is relevant and strategic in the constant search for improvement of satisfaction and quality.


2017 ◽  
Vol 37 (3/4) ◽  
pp. 134-147 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caroline Murphy ◽  
Thomas Turner

Purpose The undervaluing of care work, whether conducted informally or formally, has long been subject to debate. While much discussion, and indeed reform has centred on childcare, there is a growing need, particularly in countries with ageing populations, to examine how long-term care (LTC) work is valued. The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the way in which employment policies (female labour market participation, retirement age, and precarious work) and social policies (care entitlements and benefits/leave for carers) affect both informal carers and formal care workers in a liberal welfare state with a rapidly ageing population. Design/methodology/approach Drawing the adult worker model the authors use the existing literature on ageing care and employment to examine the approach of a liberal welfare state to care work focusing on both supports for informal carers and job quality in the formal care sector. Findings The research suggests that employment policies advocating increased labour participation, delaying retirement and treating informal care as a form of welfare are at odds with LTC strategies which encourage informal care. Furthermore, the latter policy acts to devalue formal care roles in an economic sense and potentially discourages workers from entering the formal care sector. Originality/value To date research investigating the interplay between employment and LTC policies has focused on either informal or formal care workers. In combining both aspects, we view informal and formal care workers as complementary, interdependent agents in the care process. This underlines the need to develop social policy regarding care and employment which encompasses the needs of each group concurrently.


Author(s):  
Yumi Shindo ◽  
Akira Homma

There are two strengths of dementia care services available in Japan. One strength is the creation of the Integrated Community Care System, which aims to provide various services that the elderly might need within their areas of residence. It is the responsibility of local governments to set up the ICCS, because each community has different social resources, as well as differences in the local population and the number of elderly individuals. The other strength lies in the various educational opportunities in dementia available to medical and long-term care professionals. In 2001, the national government introduced educational programmes for care workers in the field of dementia care. In addition, educational programmes for medical doctors, managers of facilities/service centres for people with dementia, medical professionals working in hospitals, pharmacists, and dentists are currently provided under the government’s policies.


Author(s):  
Teemu Rantanen ◽  
Teppo Leppälahti ◽  
Jaakko Porokuokka ◽  
Sari Heikkinen

Technological advances in elderly care have been rapid, and the introduction of robots in care will be a topical issue in the near future. There has been little research into the possibility of influencing care workers’ attitudes towards robots by project activities, and how to make the change easier for work communities. This study focuses on a robotics project that took place in elderly and home care services in one municipality in Finland (total of 45 care workers). During the project, four robotics workshops and one extended pilot session were implemented. The study follows quasi-experimental settings, and it included two measurements (before and after project activities) and a control group, but no randomization. The data were collected by questionnaires and were analyzed statistically. The project under study brought about minor positive changes in home care workers’ attitudes towards the usefulness of care robots. In the final measurement, the difference between the test group and the control group was significant in the two dimensions of positive attitudes. The research supports the hypothesis that project activities can be used to influence home care workers’ attitudes towards robots. This can also facilitate the introduction of care robots in home care services. However, the construction of a technology-positive care culture is a long-term process, which requires training and development, technological development and strong strategic management at various levels.


2019 ◽  
Vol 27 (7) ◽  
pp. 1546-1553 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shaohua Hong ◽  
Ping Yu ◽  
Xueping Chen ◽  
Shiyu Qian

2019 ◽  
pp. 1-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hannah Jelley ◽  
Liselot Kerpershoek ◽  
Frans Verhey ◽  
Claire Wolfs ◽  
Marjolein de Vugt ◽  
...  

AbstractTimely access to care services is crucial to support people with dementia and their family carers to live well. Carers of people with dementia (N = 390), recruited from eight countries, completed semi-structured interviews about their experiences of either accessing or not using formal care services over a 12-month period in the Access to Timely Formal Care (Actifcare) study. Participant responses were summarised using content analysis, categorised into clusters and frequencies were calculated. Less than half of the participants (42.3%) reported service use. Of those using services, 72.8 per cent reported timely access and of those not using services 67.2 per cent were satisfied with this situation. However, substantial minorities either reported access at the wrong time (27.2%), or feeling dissatisfied or mixed feelings about not accessing services (32.8%). Reasons for not using services included use not necessary yet, the carer provided support or refusal. Reasons given for using services included changes in the condition of the person with dementia, the service's ability to meet individual needs, not coping or the opportunity to access services arose. Facilitators and barriers to service use included whether participants experienced supportive professionals, the speed of the process, whether the general practitioner was helpful, participant's own proactive attitude and the quality of information received. To achieve timely support, simplified pathways to use of formal care services are needed.


2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 226-242 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jatin Pandey ◽  
Manjari Singh ◽  
Biju Varkkey ◽  
Dileep Mavalankar

The health of people in a nation is a potential indicator of its development. Over and above that, the job performance of people involved in the delivery and facilitation of health care services within a nation reflects the actual health conditions in it. In developing countries, where a large chunk of the population lives in rural areas, the job performance of grass-roots health care workers gains significant importance in order to ensure effective and efficient delivery of health care services to the masses and marginalized communities. The present study takes the case of Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs) in difficult rural areas of India to identify factors that affect their job performance and suggests interventions through which it could be enhanced. Fifty-five ASHAs were interviewed and five focused group discussions (FGDs) were conducted. Additionally, triangulation was done by interviewing other stakeholders, while studying relevant documents. Through content analysis of these interviews and documents, this study identifies the demands, resources and stressors that affect the job performance of these important intermediaries in the health care supply chain (in the Indian context). The study also suggests policy-level decisions that could help in enhancing job performance of ASHAs by managing demands, increasing resources and reducing stressors. Key Messages We have developed a model that delineates the demands, resources and stressors that affect job performance of women workers in rural India. We have studied Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs) who are part of community health care sector. However, our findings are applicable to a wider set of similar job roles. We have studied the nuances of factors affecting job performance for a category of community health care workers who are not full-time employees, have received minimal training and work in close proximity of their residence in a closely knit society. We have looked at job performance of ASHAs who are women community health workers, with low educational qualifications, based in rural setting of a developing country. We have recommended policy implications that would aid in enhancing the performance of ASHAs and thus improve the health care situation in rural India.


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