title: Migrant home attendants: regulation and practice in 7 countries.
abstract: We compared regulation and working and living conditions of foreign home attendants in 7 countries (Canada, Germany, Israel, Singapore, Spain, United Kingdom, United States). We conducted a literature search in the PSYCinfo, MEDLINE, and Google Scholar databases for 2002 to 2012. We found substantial between-country differences in the legal status of migrant caregivers and regulations regarding working and living conditions and drew 3 conclusions. Improving regulations will likely improve not only the well-being of foreign home attendants but also the care they provide. Countries in which many foreign home attendants work without specific legal entry programs should rethink their policies. Finally, requiring an employer's recommendation to obtain permanent residency may constrain foreign workers from registering complaints or leaving suboptimal employment situations.
authors.affiliation: Jiska Cohen-Mansfield is with the Minerva Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of End of Life, Herczeg Institute on Aging, and the Department of Health Promotion, School of Public Health, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University, Israel. Vjenka Garms-Homolová is with the University of Applied Sciences, Engineering, and Economics, Berlin, Germany, and the TU Berlin (Technische Universität Berlin). Miriam Bentwich is with the Faculty of Medicine, Bar Ilan University, Safed, Israel.
authors.forename: Jiska
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cohen-Mansfield
authors.forename: Vjenka
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Garms-Homolová
authors.forename: Miriam
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bentwich
mesh_terms: D002170:Canada; D019049:Developed Countries; D054242:Emigrants and Immigrants; D005858:Germany; D033161:Government Regulation; D018576:Home Health Aides; D006801:Humans; D007557:Israel; D016272:Occupational Health; D012846:Singapore; D013030:Spain; D006113:United Kingdom; D014481:United States