פחדים והתממשותם: חוויותיהם של קשישים ובני משפחותיהם מהחיים עם עובדים זרים המטפלים בקשישים

OBJECTIVES: Foreign home care services provided to frail elderly adults by individuals from developing countries are a global phenomenon. This study evaluated the challenges associated with live-in foreign home care from the perspective of elderly care recipients and their family members. METHODS: Qualitative interviews with twenty-three family members and seven elderly care recipients. Interviews were analyzed thematically. RESULTS: Three main themes were identified. The first theme concerned the intense fears associated with witnessing the decline of the elderly care recipient and the subsequent employment of a foreign home care worker. The second theme concerned the actual negative experiences within this caregiving setting, whereas the third theme concerned ways family members and elderly care recipients coped with these challenging experiences. CONCLUSIONS: A major challenge to this caregiving arrangement is the establishment of trust. Yet, many experienced violations of trust that resulted in abuse and neglect, which further intensify fears and concerns about this caregiving arrangement. The same coping methods used to maintain this arrangement, despite fears and concerns, are the ones responsible for maintaining the elderly care recipient in an abusive situation.