Journal of Aging and Social Policy
Volume 31, Issue 3, 2019, Pages 189-196

Women Caring for Our Aging in Place Seniors Will Lose Out because of U.S. Immigration Policies (Article)

Golant S.M.*
  • a Professor Emeritus, Department of Geography, University of Florida, Gainesville, United States

Abstract

Most older people experiencing chronic health problems, physical disabilities, and memory losses are still able to age in place in their own homes. However, they often need help from others to enjoy healthy, active, and independent lives. They turn mostly to family members, mainly women and usually their daughters, daughters-in-law or wives. But caring for frail elders has become more demanding and complex, and these family members often feel physically and emotionally overwhelmed and burnt out. They concede that they cannot do it alone. Others find it more difficult to hold full-or even part-time jobs. Hiring home (direct) care workers to assist their loved ones can be an effective solution to ease their caregiving responsibilities. However, these personal care aides, home health aides, and nursing assistants are already in short supply. Moreover, going forward the aging of the baby boomer population will result in an even greater demand for their services even as these jobs are often unattractive to American-born workers and turnover is high. This country’s immigration policies will make it even more difficult for women caring for older persons to hire these workers. Over 25 percent of home care workers are low-skilled immigrants or foreign-born. However, the Trump administration’s policies reduce the number of immigrants entering the U.S. and specifically choke off the various pathways that enable low-skilled persons to be hirable in the home care sector. Female caregivers seeking relief from their caregiving responsibilities will lose out unless we remove these immigration barriers. © 2019, © 2019 Taylor & Francis.

Author Keywords

Formal caregiving Immigration policy Informal caregiving aging in place seniors home care workers women caregivers

Index Keywords

Health Personnel Caregivers Home Care Services home care health care personnel human aging population United States Humans family labor migration immigration policy female Aged, 80 and over very elderly supply and distribution service provision legislation and jurisprudence migration Independent Living Nursing Assistants state role politics health worker Emigration and Immigration public policy caregiver policy analysis elderly care immigrant population

Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85064564463&doi=10.1080%2f08959420.2019.1603535&partnerID=40&md5=ded300a3e893176742603d5020f4360b

DOI: 10.1080/08959420.2019.1603535
ISSN: 08959420
Cited by: 1
Original Language: English