Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Bonn, Bonn, Germany.
Department of Palliative Medicine, University Hospital Bonn, Bonn, Germany.
PLoS One. 2023 Mar 22;18(3):e0282744. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0282744. eCollection 2023.
Thousands of Eastern Europeans find employment caring for older individuals as transmigrating live-in home care workers in private households in Germany. Studies have shown that the stressors threatening their well-being are multifaceted and include inequalities and a high practical and emotional workload, but research on protective factors is still scarce.
AIM & METHODS: This qualitative descriptive study focuses on both the stressors and factors that promote care workers' well-being and contribute to their psychological resilience. In guideline-based interviews, 14 female and one male care workers were asked about their stressors and the factors that help them cope.
Identified stressors included separation from their own family, strained relationship with either or both the care recipient (dementia) and their relatives (violation of worker´s rights and devaluation of care work), and permanent availability and lack of free time due to a 24-h care schedule. Resilience factors were both external and internal and included positive social relationships, self-determination, experience in care work, and intrinsic job motivation.
Live-ins reside in an ambiguous setting, exposed to both structural and individual strains. However, external and internal resilience factors contribute to a generally positive attitude toward their job and indicate the agency of this precariously employed group. A socially anchored appreciation of their work and an officially controlled expansion of free time are mandatory to improve the working conditions of live-in care workers.
数以千计的东欧人在德国私人家庭中作为移民的住家护工，从事照顾老年人的工作。研究表明，威胁他们福祉的压力源是多方面的，包括不平等和高实际和情感工作量，但关于保护因素的研究仍然很少。
本定性描述性研究侧重于移民护工的压力源和促进其福祉的因素，以及有助于他们心理弹性的因素。在基于指南的访谈中，14 名女性和 1 名男性护工被问及他们的压力源和帮助他们应对的因素。
确定的压力源包括与自己的家庭分离、与护理对象（痴呆症）和他们的亲属之间的关系紧张（侵犯工人权利和贬低护理工作），以及由于 24 小时护理时间表而导致的永久可用性和缺乏空闲时间。弹性因素既有外部的也有内部的，包括积极的社会关系、自我决定、护理工作经验和内在的工作动机。
住家护工居住在一个模棱两可的环境中，既面临结构上的压力，也面临个人的压力。然而，外部和内部的弹性因素有助于他们对工作持积极态度，并表明了这个不稳定就业群体的能动性。必须从社会上认可他们的工作，并通过官方控制扩大他们的空闲时间，以改善住家护工的工作条件。
