Domestic Helpers as Frontline Workers in Home-Based Long-Term Care in China: Opportunities and Challenges

ABSTRACT

Domestic helpers (also called baomu or jiazhengfuwuyuan in Chinese) enter personal residences to provide care and services. This study explored challenges and opportunities facing the long-term care (LTC) domestic service in urban China from the perspectives and experiences of domestic helpers (n = 25) and their employers (older adults or their family, n = 25), domestic service company managers (n = 8) and industry association staff (n = 6). Challenges identified pertain to the domestic helper-older adult relationship, day-to-day care, training, domestic service company role, and workforce shortages and instability. Opportunities include possibilities for supporting career development and increased access to social welfare and medical assistance, enhancing person-centered care for older adults by helping domestic helpers build core competencies, and establishing peer support and connections through mobile technologies.

KEYWORDS:

• long-term care
• domestic helper
• domestic service
• person-centered care

Key points

• Long-term care domestic helpers have become a major frontline workforce in caring for older adults in China.

• Opportunities for on-the-job-training and career advancement should be provided to promote stability in the domestic helper workforce.

• Training programs should include legal right protection and acculturation sessions to help domestic helpers adapt better to their work.

• Providing person-centered care can be an emerging strength of LTC domestic helpers

• Online peer support groups facilitate social networking and peer support amongst domestic helpers.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This research is funded by Fudan University Outstanding Discipline Development Project. Geriatric and Community nursing Sub-project [FNSYL202005] and Shanghai Sailing Program [20YF1402000]