Leader: Maria Gabriella Melchiorre (INRCA); Other collaborator(s): UNIMIB/LEGACOOP
This task moves from acknowledging that a large share of the long-term care needs of Italy’s frailest older population is met by care workers, mostly with a migrant background, who are privately hired by Italian households, often on a live-in and/or undeclared basis. The interection between ethnical and cultural values, attitudes, traditions and skills of the caregivers with the needs of the care receivers is a key issue in the provision of adequate instruments to monitor and improve the welleing the care-giver - care-receiver dyad. This task will therefore identify key aspects that can contribute to improve the monitoring tools developed under WP2, specifically addressing the needs and resources of migrant-origin care givers. The task will also tackle relevant ethnical-related aspects of the relation to be monitored.
Brief description of the activities and of the intermediate results
Activity planning, weekly online partner meetings. Collaboration to the protocol/form sent to the Unibo Bioethics Committee on 30 November 2023. Approval on January 2024. Questionnaire construction for caregiver and care receiver, with inputs on some dimensions (e.g., family, caregiver burden, anxiety/depression, MCWs/badanti) and further refinements regarding caregiver needs and reasons leading older persons to access hospital. Submission of an abstract to the AGE-IT Conference, Venice, May 2024 (accepted). Collaboration to the recruitment of caregivers to be interviewed (by app, link online) by providing names/mail of Alzheimer associations (and other associations) for circulating the info on the upcoming survey.
Main policy, industrial and scientific implications
The goal is to address the needs and resources of migrant-origin caregivers.
We have created the final version of the caregiver monitoring application; the debbugging phase is over. In addition, we have continued the activity of engaging the caregiver associations.
We have created the final version of the caregiver monitoring application; the debbugging phase is over. In addition, we have continued the activity of engaging the caregiver associations.
We proceeded with the purchase of the sensors and the part of the application was developed to download the data coming from the sensors.
We have developed the manual for caregivers.
We have carried out awareness-raising events to involve caregivers in the Ravenna and Bologna area (we have planned 3 public meetings for the period September- December) involving caregiver associations and citizens.
We have performed the final test of the entire software and hardware apparatus before starting the enrollement.
…