IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v19y2022i10p6293-d821311.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Elderly Caregiving Quality Improvement: A Pilot Study of the Burdens of Vietnamese Caregivers in Taiwan

Author

Listed:
  • Chang-Yu Wu

    (DOAE, National Taichung University of Science and Technology, No. 129 San-Ming Rd., Taichung 40401, Taiwan)

  • Yu-Ying Li

    (Department of Nursing, National Taichung University of Science and Technology, No. 129 San-Ming Rd., Taichung 40401, Taiwan)

  • Maurice J. Lyver

    (DOAE, National Taichung University of Science and Technology, No. 129 San-Ming Rd., Taichung 40401, Taiwan)

Abstract

Taiwan is expected to reach super-aged status by 2026, leading to an increased demand for elderly caregiving services. Low local unemployment and a dwindling working-age population mean the island’s care system relies heavily on female foreign domestic workers (FDWs) from Southeast Asian neighbors such as Vietnam to satisfy labor shortages. Although suggested by anecdotal evidence, limited research has been conducted on the link between the shortfall in FDW qualifications, training, preparedness, and expertise and their employment stressors. Therefore, this study aims to assist FDWs by evaluating their stressors and helping them better understand health care delivery by (1) administering the Modified Caregiver Strain Index (MCSI) revised 2003 questionnaire, (2) performing semi-structured in-depth one-on-one interviews, (3) classifying interview results according to thematic analysis, and (4) using these themes to devise and deliver a 12-week multilingual health education teach-back program. Our results indicate that Vietnamese FDWs face specific challenges, including language barriers, homesickness, intensive physical and psychological work demands, stress adaptation, and occupational exposures. Despite yielding no significant improvements in caregiving strain, our intervention, conducted at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, pinpoints and classifies areas of grave concern and proposes recommendations that can assist long-term care (LTC) stakeholders in understanding and overcoming their respective challenges, thereby improving the quality of elderly care.

Suggested Citation

  • Chang-Yu Wu & Yu-Ying Li & Maurice J. Lyver, 2022. "Elderly Caregiving Quality Improvement: A Pilot Study of the Burdens of Vietnamese Caregivers in Taiwan," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(10), pages 1-20, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:10:p:6293-:d:821311
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/10/6293/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/10/6293/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Megan Thornton & Shirley S. Travis, 2003. "Analysis of the Reliability of the Modified Caregiver Strain Index," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 58(2), pages 127-132.
    2. Stroka, Magdalena A., 2014. "The Mental and Physical Burden of Caregiving - Evidence from Administrative Data," Ruhr Economic Papers 474, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-University Bochum, TU Dortmund University, University of Duisburg-Essen.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Beni Gómez-Zúñiga & Rafael Pulido & Modesta Pousada & Manuel Armayones, 2021. "The Role of Parent/Caregiver with Children Affected by Rare Diseases: Navigating between Love and Fear," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(7), pages 1-20, April.
    2. David Feligreras-Alcalá & María del Pilar Cazalilla-López & Rafael del-Pino-Casado & Antonio Frías-Osuna, 2021. "Validity and Reliability of the Caregiver Strain Index Scale in Women during the Puerperium in Spain," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(7), pages 1-11, March.
    3. Ashley Kable & Dimity Pond & Amanda Baker & Alyna Turner & Christopher Levi, 2018. "Evaluation of discharge documentation after hospitalization for stroke patients discharged home in Australia: A cross‐sectional, pilot study," Nursing & Health Sciences, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 20(1), pages 24-30, March.
    4. P.L. de Zwart & P. Bakx & E.K.A. van Doorslaer, 2017. "Will you still need me, will you still feed me when I'm 64? The health impact of caregiving to one's spouse," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 26(S2), pages 127-138, September.
    5. Ruta K Valaitis & Maureen Markle-Reid & Jenny Ploeg & Michelle L Butt & Rebecca Ganann & Nancy Murray & Sue Bookey-Bassett & Laurie Kennedy & Claudia Yousif, 2020. "An evaluation study of caregiver perceptions of the Ontario’s Health Links program," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(2), pages 1-21, February.
    6. Costa-Font, Joan & Vilaplana-Prieto, Cristina, 2022. "Mental health effects of caregivers respite: Subsidies or Supports?," The Journal of the Economics of Ageing, Elsevier, vol. 23(C).
    7. Le, Duc Dung & Ibuka, Yoko, 2023. "Understanding the effects of informal caregiving on health and well-being: Heterogeneity and mechanisms," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 317(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:10:p:6293-:d:821311. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.