Table 3 Data extraction table
Author(s) | Aim(s) | Type of study | Location of data collection | Participants | Sample size | Data collection method(s) | Analytical approach | Key findings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bernadas and Jiang [20] | To explore and problematized the reasons, processes, and barriers in acquiring health information among Filipino MDWs in Hong Kong | Qualitative | Hong Kong | Female MDWs from the Philippines living in Hong Kong, aged between 27 and 62 with at least 24 months work experience | 23 | Four focus group discussions | Grounded Theory | • Filipino MDWs in Hong Kong sought more treatment than prevention-related information. Information seeking was characterized as sequential across multiple sources • Various information sources were identified, including health care professionals (e.g., doctors or nurses) and nonprofessional sources (e.g., employers, family, or friends) and the Internet (e.g., search engines) • Barriers to information seeking included structures of work and immigration • Unknown quality of information accessed was also a potential barrier to health decision-making • Religiousness, including beliefs and attendance at church, motivated health-seeking behavior and increased access to sources of health information |
Dutta et al. [28] | To explore the key meanings of health held by MDWs in Singapore as they negotiate living and working in the country | Qualitative | Singapore | Female MDWs with at least two months work experience | 20 | Semi-structured interviews | Culture Centered Approach | • Food and financial insecurity were identified as key structural features that influenced the health of MDWs in Singapore • Findings described how MDWs participated in making health choices • MDWs described themselves as making choices about their daily health through agentic actions such as exercising while doing chores, drinking water, self-medicating, participating in communal activities and praying |
Interviewees were residing in non-government shelters after leaving abusive employment situations | ||||||||
Heng et al. [8] | To explore the caregiving experiences and coping strategies of MDWs workers caring for frail older people in Singapore | Qualitative | Singapore | Female MDWs aged between 26 and 42 years with between 2 months and 13 years of work experience with older people | 11 Participants were from the following home countries: Indonesia (n = 6), the Philippines (n = 4), and Myanmar (n = 1) | Semi-structured interviews | Thematic analysis | Four main themes were identified: 1. MDWs had to balance attending to the care needs of their employers as well as completing household cleaning duties. Striving to achieve this balance created significant stress 2. MDWs encountered challenges caring for the older, frail care-recipients. Language barriers may lead to miscommunication. Workers faced challenges in handling behavioral issues of their carerecipients. Workers reported not having enough rest, and they had concerns about leaving their care-recipients alone or letting go of their caregiving responsibilities on their days off 3. Workers used various strategies to help themselves cope with stress, including time management strategies, emotional coping strategies such as treating their care -recipients as their own family members, and self-distraction such as playing games on social media platforms, singing and dancing 4. Workers sought emotional support from their employers, family and friends. MDWs sought training and nursing skills from healthcare professionals |
MDWs were employed to provide care to individuals aged over 60 who needed assistance in at least one activity of daily living | ||||||||
Kaur-Gill and Dutta [35] | To represent voices of MDWs in the exploration of their everyday mental health | Qualitative | Singapore | Female MDWs with at least two months work experience and residing living in temporary emergency accommodation. Interviewees had left abusive employment situations | 20 | In-depth interviews | Culture Centered Approach | MDWs described careful negotiation of their highly structured and monitored lives in their employers’ homes |
Through narratives, MDWs illustrated how the structural context of their employment affected their mental health | ||||||||
Tam et al. [7] | To explore MDWs' perceptions about the challenges, coping strategies, and support needed to care for frail seniors | Qualitative | Singapore | Female MDWs from Indonesia, the Philippines, and Myanmar living in Singapore, aged between 21 and 50 years with at least 12 months work experience looking after frail, older people | 25 | In-depth interviews | Thematic analysis | This study identified three main themes related to factors that both challenged and supported MDWs employed to care for frail, older people: 1. Social support and positive relationships with both the employer and their extended family 2. Access to outside social circles and adequate weekly rest days 3. Job satisfaction derived from the act of caring which was linked with perceptions of self-efficacy and skills and knowledge about specific needs of the elderly employer (e.g., dementia) |
Five full-time healthcare staff of the hospital where data was collected | ||||||||
Van Bortel et al. [37] | To examine stressors and coping mechanisms experienced by female MDWs in Singapore | Qualitative | Singapore | Female MDWs living in Singapore, aged between 20 and 63 years with at least 12 months work experience | 100 of 182 questionnaire respondents responded to free-text questions which were analyzed qualitatively | Free-text responses gathered through a cross-sectional survey | Thematic analysis and content analysis | Three themes were identified as key underlying causes of stress: 1. Work restrictions and lack of personal agency and control, 2. The pervasiveness of financial need, and 3. Commitment to families and associated obligations |
Coping strategies described by MDWs were grouped into three areas: 1. Finding time for self, 2. Managing thoughts, and 3. Engaging in religious activities | ||||||||
Participants were from: the Philippines (n = 104), Indonesia (n = 68), Myanmar (n = 9), and Sri Lanka (n = 1) | ||||||||
Social support was an additional protective factor | ||||||||
Van der Ham et al. [6] | To describe and explore factors that relate to stress, resilience and wellbeing for female MDWs from the Philippines | Mixed methods | The Philippines | 500 female MDWs who had returned to the Philippines after completing at least one work contract abroad | 500 | Questionnaire with open and closed-ended questions administered orally through structured interviews | This publication describes using content analysis for analysis of data from workshops and focus groups | • Participants reported that they experienced high levels of stress but perceived their wellbeing during migration as generally good • This study explores two factors that might support resilience among Filipino MDWs: (1) personal resources (reasons for migration, coping) and (2) social resources (employer-worker relationship, social support, organization membership) • Most of the reasons for migration given by the participants were related to escaping poverty and improving quality of life • Participants used various coping strategies to deal with stress. Praying/reading the Bible, crying, resting/sleeping were the most frequently used ways • Participants reported spirituality (especially praying) as a source of strength for them • Some participants reported positive experiences with employers, for example, receiving material gifts and being praised for job well done • Filipino friends in the country of destination and family members in the home country (the Philippines) were also important sources of social support |
Research participants were aged between 18 and 60 years and had worked in countries in Asia and the Middle East during their last contracts | ||||||||
Workshops with 23 MDWs and representatives from governmental organizations (n = 7) and non-governmental organizations (n = 13), and field interviewers (n = 3) | ||||||||
21 MDWs in two focus groups (n = 13; n = 8) | ||||||||
Van der Ham et al. [36] | To assess stress and coping of female MDWs from the Philippines across three different phases of migration (pre-, during- and post-migration) | Mixed methods | The Philippines | 500 female MDWs who had returned to the Philippines after completing at least one work contract abroad | 500 | Questionnaire with open and closed-ended questions administered orally through structured interviews | Responses to free-text questionnaire items were analyzed thematically | • MDWs experienced higher levels of stress during migration than when they were in the Philippines (either prior to or after migration) • Stressors identified by MDWs while they were in the Philippines were related to financial issues, while key causes of stress during migration were linked more strongly to loneliness, homesickness, poor working conditions, and employment conditions |
Workers were aged between 18 and 60 years and had worked in countries in Asia and the Middle East during their last contracts | ||||||||
Workshops with 23 MDWs and representatives from governmental organizations (n = 7) and non-governmental organizations (n = 13), and field interviewers (n = 3) | ||||||||
21 MDWs in two focus groups (n = 13; n = 8) |