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

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 March 2010

Ivy Lynn Bourgeault ,
Jelena Atanackovic ,
Ahmed Rashid  and
Rishma Parpia
Ivy Lynn Bourgeault*
Affiliation:
Interdisciplinary School of Health Sciences, University of Ottawa
Jelena Atanackovic
Affiliation:
Department of Sociology, McMaster University
Ahmed Rashid
Affiliation:
Department of Sociology, University of Ottawa
Rishma Parpia
Affiliation:
Department of Sociology, McMaster University
*
†Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to / La correspondance concernant cet article doit être adressées à: Ivy Lynn Bourgeault, Department of Health Sciences, University of Ottawa, 43 Templeton Street, Ottawa Ontario K1N 6X1. ([email protected])
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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.

Résumé

Les aidants immigrés jouent un rôle de plus en plus important dans les soins de domicile et les soins de longue durée au Canada, mais l’ampleur totale de leurs relations avec les personnes âgées dans ces cadres est relativement inconnue. Cet article examine le rôle des aidants immigrés dans les deux secteurs de domicile et de soins de longue durée, mettant l’accent sur les relations avec les anciens et les implications pour la qualité des soins. Les données proviennent des entrevues avec les travailleurs, les employeurs et les clients anciens menées dans divers services d’accueil et de soins de longue durée pour personnes âgées dans trois provinces canadiennes: l’Ontario, la Colombie-Britannique et le Québec. Les facteurs qui découlent des origines ethniques ou raciales des aidants immigrés, barrières linguistiques et facteurs contextuels tels que la pénurie de personnel en soins de différents paramètres pour les personnes âgées compliquent la relation entre les aidants immigrés et leurs clients. Dans certains cas, ces facteurs diminuent la qualité des soins. Nous indiquons quelques politiques alternatives que nos conclusions suggèrent devraient être considérées.

Keywords

aidants immigréssoins pour personnes agéesrelations avec les adults plus agéesexpérience de travailimmigrant care workersolder adult carerelations with older adultswork experiences
Type
Articles
Information
Canadian Journal on Aging / La Revue canadienne du vieillissement , Volume 29 , Issue 1: Special Issue from the Social and Economic Dimensions of an Aging Population Project (SEDAP) – Caring for an Aging Population: Context, Practice & Policy , March 2010 , pp. 109 - 118
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Association on Gerontology 2010

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Footnotes

*

Financial support for this research was provided through a grant of the International Opportunities Programme of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. The research design and protocols were developed in conjunction with a broader international team based in the U.K. with colleagues Sarah Spencer, Alessio Cangiano, and Isabel Shutes; in the U.S. with colleagues Susan Martin, Lindsay Lowell, and Elzbieta Godziak, and in Ireland with colleagues Eamon O’Shea and Kieran Walsh. Data from British Columbia were collected by Christine Davis and in Quebec by Jane LeBrun. Judi Winkup provided adept coordination of the overall research project.

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