| Title |
Caught between a rock and a hard place: mental health of migrant live-in caregivers in Canada
|
|---|---|
| Published in |
BMC Public Health, May 2017
|
| DOI | 10.1186/s12889-017-4431-4 |
| Pubmed ID | |
| Authors |
Mandana Vahabi, Josephine Pui-Hing Wong |
| Abstract |
Canada depends on Temporary Foreign Workers (TFWs), also known as migrant workers, to fill labour shortage in agriculture, hospitality, construction, child/senior care, and other low-skilled occupations. Evidence shows that TFWs, especially women live-in caregivers (LC), constitute a vulnerable population. Their health is compromised by the precarious and harsh working and living conditions they encounter. There is a paucity of research on the mental health of LCs, their support systems and access to mental health services. In this community-based exploratory study, we used mixed methods of survey and focus groups to explore the work related experiences and mental health of migrant live-in caregivers in the Greater Toronto Area in Ontario, Canada. Convenience and snowball sampling were used to recruit participants. The inclusion criteria were: being 18 years or older, initially migrated to Canada as TFWs under LC program, resided in the Greater Toronto Area, and able to understand and converse in English based on self-report. This paper reports on the focus group results derived from inductive thematic analysis. A total of 30 women LCs participated in the study. Most of them were from the Philippines. A number of key themes emerged from the participants' narratives: (1) precarious migration-employment status (re)produces exploitation; (2) deskilling and downward social mobility reinforce alienation; (3) endurance of hardship for family back home; (4) double lives of public cheerfulness and private anguish; and (4) unrecognized mental health needs. The study results reflected gross injustices experienced by these women. A multi-faceted approach is required to improve the working and living conditions of this vulnerable group and ultimately their health outcomes. We recommend the following: government inspection to ensure employer compliance with the labour standards and provision of safe working and living conditions; change immigration policy to allow migrant caregivers to apply for permanent residence upon arrival; the TFWs Program to establish fair wages and subsidized housing so that caregivers can truly access the live-out option; and local ethno-specific, settlement and faith organizations be leveraged to provide TFWs with social support as well as information about their rights and how to access health and social care. |
X Demographics
The data shown below were collected from the profiles of 2 X users who shared this research output. Click here to find out more about how the information was compiled.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| United States | 1 | 50% |
| Canada | 1 | 50% |
Demographic breakdown
| Type | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Members of the public | 1 | 50% |
| Practitioners (doctors, other healthcare professionals) | 1 | 50% |
Mendeley readers
The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 260 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Unknown | 260 | 100% |
Demographic breakdown
| Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Student > Master | 44 | 17% |
| Researcher | 34 | 13% |
| Student > Ph. D. Student | 29 | 11% |
| Student > Doctoral Student | 21 | 8% |
| Student > Bachelor | 15 | 6% |
| Other | 43 | 17% |
| Unknown | 74 | 28% |
| Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Social Sciences | 48 | 18% |
| Nursing and Health Professions | 37 | 14% |
| Psychology | 27 | 10% |
| Medicine and Dentistry | 20 | 8% |
| Business, Management and Accounting | 9 | 3% |
| Other | 36 | 14% |
| Unknown | 83 | 32% |
Attention Score in Context
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 40. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 08 March 2023.
All research outputs
#899,982
of 23,505,064 outputs
Outputs from BMC Public Health
#956
of 15,300 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#19,618
of 314,725 outputs
Outputs of similar age from BMC Public Health
#23
of 256 outputs
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