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Getting Migrant Carers On-Line. eInclusion Days, Digital Literacy workshop Brussels, 12 th October 2010. Andrea Schmidt Contact: schmidt@euro.centre.org (Presentation prepared with inputs from Ricardo Rodrigues). A changing world will bring. ...and changing availability of care:.
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Getting Migrant Carers On-Line eInclusion Days, Digital Literacy workshop Brussels, 12th October 2010 Andrea SchmidtContact: schmidt@euro.centre.org (Presentation prepared with inputs from Ricardo Rodrigues)
A changing world will bring... ...and changing availability of care: ...changing care needs: Prevalence of Dementia in Europe (2005) “Support ratio”: number of women aged 45-64 for each 80 year-old Source: Own calculations based on Alzheimer Europe (2006) Source: Eurostat
Home is where you’re cared for Beneficiaries of institutional and home care in EU Member States (latest available year) Institutional care confined to a minority Home care is key for more people accessing care Source: ECFIN (2009), European Centre 2009
Solutions? Migrant care workers (MCWs) • Labour shortages in the care sector > pressure on informal care; • Demand e.g. for 24h care; • Budgetary constraints at state & household level; • Favourable policy settings: unregulated cash benefits Targeting immigration of skilled labour for health and LTC sector: “Legal” carers” (e.g. nurses employed by health sector) as well as... …“grey markets of care”, particularly in home care: Undocumentedcarershiredby private households
But...MCWs- at the edge of society? Social isolation • 24h presence required: psychological distress/loss of self-esteem • Cultural and language barriers Quality concerns • Limited skills and experience: Poor knowledge on existing services, lack of training opportunities >> Impact on quality of care; • Lack of integration with formal care Ethical concerns • Exploitation and lack of social protection; • Two-tier labour market through imperfect formalisation • Beggar-thy-neighbour policies? (Future) care gaps in sending countries and “brain drain” (qualified migration);
Potential of ICT in domiciliary care Source: Unpublished working paper, Lamura et al. (2010)
Good practices (1) (not specifically for MCWs) Sources: ACTION website; Carers UK website; Yeandle and Fry (2010), Kluzer et al. (2010), and Empirica/WRC (2010)
Good practices (2) Sources: ACTION website; Carers UK website; Yeandle and Fry (2010), Kluzer et al. (2010), and Empirica/WRC (2010)
Digital competence for MCWs Crucialissues: • Accessibility • Availability • Safety • Ethical/legal concerns • Language skills Digital skillsof MCWs: …to understand …tocriticallyevaluate …touseresponsiblyandconfidently …tocommunicateeffectively • Effectivenetworking • Peer support • Increasedindependence • Increasedself-esteem • Increasedqualification DC „involvestheconfidentandcriticaluseof IST forwork, leisureandcommunication[,…] underpinnedbybasicskills: theuseofcomputersto […] exchangeinformation, andtocommunicateandparticipate in collaborativenetworksvia the Internet.“ (European Council, 2006)
Conclusions for further debate Given the appropriate legal, technological and cognitive environment... Digital competence can support MCWs at: • Emotional level: strengthening personal coping strategies and self-management, increasing social networks and independence • Professional level: improving qualification of MCWs, providing on-the-job and peer support, integrating them in the formal labor market • Societal level: Integrating MCWs better in the hosting country and in interacting with family caregivers Yet, many challenges remain: • Lack of initiatives designed particularly for MCWs (e.g.in mother tongue) • Legal concerns (e.g. over information exchange, revealing identity) • Evidence-based knowledge on the benefits,impact and costs of ICT solutions especially in informal domiciliary long-term care