Inheriting Care

2018 ◽  
pp. 62-87
Author(s):  
Elana D. Buch
Keyword(s):  
Social Policy ◽  
Home Care ◽  
Women Of Color ◽  
Life Histories ◽  
Moral Imagination ◽  
Typically Develop ◽  
Care Workers ◽  
Poor Women ◽  
Survival Skills ◽  
Home Care Workers

Home care workers typically develop indispensable expertise caring for kin in difficult circumstances. This chapter presents the life histories of two home care workers, to argue that workers’ care for kin generates forms of moral imagination in which care practices are inextricably linked to notions of obligation, reciprocity, and sacrifice. For workers, these moral and domestic lessons become survival skills thanks to long histories of discriminatory social policy that regenerate the racial and gendered contours of poverty while funneling poor women of color into domestic and care jobs. Their stories highlight their resilient and creative responses to poverty, and their central role generating the independence of others.

Working Conditions in Home Care: Negotiating Race and Class Boundaries in Gendered Work

1997 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 479-499 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sheila M. Neysmith ◽  
Jane Aronson
Keyword(s):  
Home Care ◽  
Women Of Color ◽  
Care Work ◽  
Political Issues ◽  
Race And Class ◽  
Care Workers ◽  
Micro Level ◽  
Home Care Workers ◽  
Depth Interviews ◽  
Case Basis

Home care work in metropolitan areas is a source of employment for immigrant women of color. Service work of this type intertwines domestic and caring labor in ways that reinforce the historically gendered and racialized nature of the work. Such macro level economic and political issues are played out at the micro level of daily service provided within elderly clients' homes. A study of these processes in home care work was carried out in urban southern Ontario in two nonprofit home care agencies. In-depth interviews and focus groups held with visible minority home care workers suggested that workers deal daily with racist attitudes and behaviors from clients and their families; agencies recognize these oppressive processes but usually handle them on a case-by-case basis through supervisors; and home care workers handle racism on the job as they do in their off-work hours—by avoidance, situating incidents within an analysis of the circumstances of elderly clients, setting boundaries on discussions, and occasionally, confrontation.

Generating Independence

2018 ◽  
pp. 33-61
Author(s):  
Elana D. Buch
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Home Care ◽  
Life Histories ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Good Care ◽  
Independent Manner ◽  
Reciprocal Relationships ◽  
Care Workers ◽  
Home Care Workers ◽  
To Receive

The first chapter of the book draws on the life histories of three very different older adults, exploring how elders came to understand the ideas of independence over their long histories of experience. These histories reveal the stakes of care for older adults and how they distinguish good care from bad. Older adults did not imagine independence as requiring them to sustain their lives without assistance from anyone else. They understood independence as generated through reciprocal relationships in which they contributed equitably to the well-being of those upon whom they relied. Older adults took solace in the fact that their home care workers were paid, seeing this as a more independent manner in which to receive care than relying on unpaid but morally obligated relatives. In this way, home care buttressed older adults from becoming a burden on those they loved, protecting them from the always present specter of dependence.

“Then They Trust You …”

2017 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 225-245 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marsha Love ◽  
Felipe Tendick-Matesanz ◽  
Jane Thomason ◽  
Davine Carter ◽  
Myra Glassman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Home Care ◽  
Long Term Care ◽  
Care Needs ◽  
Term Care ◽  
Team Members ◽  
Physical Independence ◽  
Care Workers ◽  
Communications Skills ◽  
Home Care Workers

The home care workforce, already at 2.7 million caregivers, will become the nation’s fastest growing occupation by 2024 as the senior boom generation accelerates the demand for in home services to meet its long-term care needs. The physically challenging work of assisting clients with intimate, essential acts of daily living places home care workers (HCWs) at risk for musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs); yet, HCWs typically receive little formal job training and may lack appropriate assistive devices. In this qualitative pilot study, HCW focus groups described workplace MSD risk factors and identified problem-solving strategies to improve ergonomic conditions. The results revealed that HCWs rely on their behavioral insights, self-styled communications skills and caring demeanor to navigate MSD risks to themselves and increase clients’ physical independence of movement. We suggest changes in employer and government policies to acknowledge HCWs as valued team members in long-term care and to enhance their effectiveness as caregivers.

Computer-Mediated Peer Support Needs of Home Care Workers: Emotional Labor & the Politics of Professionalism

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (CSCW2) ◽  
pp. 1-32
Author(s):  
Anthony Poon ◽  
Vaidehi Hussain ◽  
Julia Loughman ◽  
Ariel C. Avgar ◽  
Madeline Sterling ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Home Care ◽  
Peer Support ◽  
Emotional Labor ◽  
Support Needs ◽  
Computer Mediated ◽  
Care Workers ◽  
Home Care Workers

scholarly journals Home care workers in heart failure: a systematic review

2018 ◽  
Vol Volume 11 ◽  
pp. 481-492 ◽  
Author(s):  
Madeline R Sterling ◽  
Amy L Shaw ◽  
Peggy BK Leung ◽  
Monika M Safford ◽  
Christine Jones ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Heart Failure ◽  
Systematic Review ◽  
Home Care ◽  
Care Workers ◽  
Home Care Workers

scholarly journals Historical Mismatch Between Home-Based Care Policies And Laws Governing Home Care Workers

2019 ◽  
Vol 38 (6) ◽  
pp. 973-980 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa I. Iezzoni ◽  
Naomi Gallopyn ◽  
Kezia Scales
Keyword(s):  
Home Care ◽  
Home Based ◽  
Care Workers ◽  
Care Policies ◽  
Home Care Workers ◽  
Home Based Care

scholarly journals Impacts of a Care Robotics Project on Finnish Home Care Workers’ Attitudes towards Robots

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (19) ◽  
pp. 7176
Author(s):  
Teemu Rantanen ◽  
Teppo Leppälahti ◽  
Jaakko Porokuokka ◽  
Sari Heikkinen
Keyword(s):  
Home Care ◽  
Elderly Care ◽  
Test Group ◽  
Home Care Services ◽  
Two Dimensions ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Care Services ◽  
Care Robots ◽  
Care Workers ◽  
Home Care Workers

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.

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