The impact of having foreign domestic workers on informal caregivers of persons with dementia: Findings from a multi-method research in Singapore

Author

Qi Yuan, Institute of Mental Health, Singapore
Yunjue Zhang, Institute of Mental Health, Singapore
Ellaisha Samari, Institute of Mental Health, Singapore
Anitha Jeyagurunathan, Institute of Mental Health, Singapore
Tee Hng TAN, Singapore Management UniversityFollow
Fiona Devi, Institute of Mental Health, Singapore
Peizhi Wang, Institute of Mental Health, Singapore
Harish Magadi, Institute of Mental Health, Singapore
Richard Goveas, Institute of Mental Health, Singapore
Li Ling Ng, Changi General Hospital
Mythily Subramaniam, Institute of Mental Health, Singapore

Publication Type

Journal Article

Version

publishedVersion

Publication Date

12-2022

Abstract

Background: Informal caregivers of persons with dementia (PWDs) sometimes engage foreign domestic workers (FDWs) to support their caregiving journey. However, there has not been much research to establish if this is really beneficial. The current study aims to investigate whether engaging FDWs specifically for caregiving of PWDs truly moderates caregiver stress and to explore caregivers’ experiences of engaging FDWs. Methods: A multi-method study design with a quantitative and qualitative sub-study was adopted. For the quantitative sub-study, 282 informal caregivers of PWDs were recruited. Propensity score matching analysis was used. For the qualitative sub-study, 15 informal caregivers with FDWs were interviewed. Inductive thematic analysis was conducted. Results: The quantitative sub-study confirmed that engaging FDWs did moderate the depressive symptoms of informal dementia caregivers (marginal effect = -3.35, p = 0.0497). However, such support did not affect their caregiving burden, self-efficacy, and perceived positive aspects of caregiving. The qualitative sub-study suggested that engaging FDWs is an ambivalent experience, which entails both support and challenges. Conclusions: The current study confirmed previous research findings, that engaging FDWs moderated depressive symptoms among caregivers of PWDs, and it could be through their physical support such as in daily caregiving activities. Policy-makers may consider providing more subsidies to caregivers caring for PWDs with mobility issues to hire FDWs. They may also consider providing training to FDWs on dementia caregiving skills and improving the intake of such training as this might be helpful for both FDWs and caregivers during this journey.

Keywords

Dementia, Foreign domestic helper, Informal caregiving, Propensity score matching, Qualitative research methods

Discipline

Asian Studies | Gerontology | Health Psychology | Medicine and Health

Research Areas

Psychology

Publication

BMC Geriatrics

Volume

22

Issue

1

First Page

1

Last Page

11

ISSN

1471-2318

Identifier

10.1186/s12877-022-03002-w

Publisher

BioMed Central

Citation

Yuan, Qi, Zhang, Yunjue, Samari, Ellaisha, Jeyagurunathan, Anitha, TAN, Tee Hng, Devi, Fiona, Wang, Peizhi, Magadi, Harish, Goveas, Richard, Ng, Li Ling, & Subramaniam, Mythily.(2022). The impact of having foreign domestic workers on informal caregivers of persons with dementia: Findings from a multi-method research in Singapore. BMC Geriatrics, 22(1), 1-11.

Available at: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/soss_research/3618

Copyright Owner and License

Authors

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Additional URL

https://doi.org/10.1186/s12877-022-03002-w