Module 3: Identification of psychosocial health in the workplace of 24-hour carers

Background
Currently about 100,000 live-in caregivers are working in German households [1]. Mostly, they originated from middle- and east European countries and support a person in the need of care to be taken care of in his or her own familiar setting. There are scattered indications, that 24-hour carers are exposed to enormous stressors like violations of basic occupational rights (e.g. working time, accident insurance, vacation entitlement), non-payment of customary minimum wage, non-existent quality controls, and an unclear liability risk in the event of damage [1, 2, 3]. Among other factors, remittances to their families [4, 5], getting and staying in contact with fellow migrant colleagues [6] and the appreciation of linguistic competence in linguistically diverse care relationships [7] are mentioned as motivational resources for foreign nurses.

Research questions

• What psychosocial stressors do live-in caregivers experience at their workplace?
• Which resources and skills do they employ to face psychosocial stressors?

Method
We conduct semi-structured interviews with 24-hour carers. The recruitment of 24-hour care staff is carried out by various multipliers (e.g. nursing services, agencies, welfare associations, Federal Employment Agency). If necessary, professional interpreters are present at the interviews to ensure sufficient linguistic communication.

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References

[1]
NEUHAUS, A.; ISFORT, M.; WEIDNER, F. (2009): Situation und Bedarfe von Familien mit mittel- und osteuropäischen Haushaltshilfen. Deutsches Institut für angewandte Pflegeforschung e.V., Köln.
Online:
http://www.dip.de (Zugang nur für registrierte Nutzer)

[2]
MARTIN-MATTHEWS, A., Employers, home support workers and elderly clients: identifying key issues in delivery and receipt of home support, Healthcare Quarterly, 2008. 11 (4), pp. 69-75.
Online:
http://www.longwoods.com/content/20073

[3]
von Kondratowitz, H-J., Die Beschäftigung von Migranten/innen in der Pflege, Zeitschrift für Gerontologie und Geriatrie, 2005. 38 (6), pp. 417-423.

[4]
HUMPHRIES, N., BRUGHA, R., MCGEE, H., Sending money home: a mixed-methods study of remittances by migrant nurses in Ireland, Human Resources for Health, 2009. 7:66.

[5]
LARSEN, J. A. et al., Overseas Nurses‘ Movitations for Working in the UK: globalization and life politics, Work, Employment and Society, 2005. 19 (2), pp. 349-368.
Online:
http://wes.sagepub.com/content/19/2/349.full.pdf

[6]
COVELL, C. L., NEITERMAN, E., BOURGEAULT, I. L., Scoping review about the professional integration of internationally educated health professionals, Human Resources for Health, 2016. 14:38.

[7]
OMERI, A., ATKINS, K., Lived experiences of immigrant nurses in New South Wales, Australia: searching for meaning, International Journal of Nursing Studies, 2002. 39 (5), pp. 495-505.