Experiences of Migrant Live-in Caregivers in Caring for Patients With Advanced Cancer – A Qualitative Study

IntroductionForeign domestic workers are increasingly hired in Singapore as live-in caregivers for patients with advanced cancer. Language barriers and different cultural backgrounds can make caregiving potentially challenging. This study aims to explore the experiences of migrant live-in caregivers caring for patients with advanced cancer.MethodSemi-structured interviews were conducted to explore: the challenges and needs of migrant live-in caregivers caring for patients with advanced cancer, what enables their cancer caregiving work, and their motivations. Participants were recruited from inpatient oncology wards of an acute tertiary hospital. Inclusion criteria included: (i) migrant live-in caregiver caring for a patient with stage IV solid organ cancer; (ii) age ≥21 years; (iii) conversant in English, Mandarin or Burmese. Twelve female caregivers participated in the study. Their mean age was 35.4 years, 4 were from Indonesia, 3 from Myanmar and 5 from the Philippines.ResultsFour main themes emerged: (1) Wide-ranging work responsibilities that could be challenging, (2) Treating and being treated like family, (3) Having access to multiple sources of support and (4) Motivated by being able to provide for their own family of origin.ConclusionMigrant live-in caregivers face various challenges in cancer caregiving. Having a good relationship with patients, adequate employer and peer support and being able to provide for their family helped to motivate them. Efforts to support them can include formal training, better delineation of job scope and hours, and resources to address psycho-emotional needs. Further research could focus on knowledge gaps for cancer caregiving, psychosocial and post-bereavement needs.