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Migra Care

Involvement of 24-hour carers in care networks in Austria

Topic
Inclusive society
Focus
Migration and care; health
Method
Exchange meetings
Duration
February 2023 - December 2024
Status
completed
Location
Vienna; Upper Austria; Styria
Funding
Caring Communities for Future

What is the project about?

At present, many older and frail people living at home are cared for by personal caregivers known as 24-hour caregivers. The majority of these caregivers are migrant women (98%) from Eastern European countries such as Slovakia, Romania, and Hungary.
In this transdisciplinary project, research partners work together with organizations representing the care sector to further develop the innovative concept of Caregiver Cafés—spaces created through volunteer engagement where 24-hour caregivers can meet and exchange experiences with one another.
To better integrate 24-hour caregivers into existing care networks, the project aims to connect Caregiver Cafés across Austria, offer continuing education programs through these cafés, and provide training for Community Nurses and social counseling centers. These trainings help participants better understand the work performed by 24-hour caregivers and the conditions they require in order to carry out their work as live-in caregivers.
This practice-oriented project is accompanied and evaluated through social science research. The project is fully aligned with the concept of a Caring Community, which seeks to sustainably strengthen the inclusion and networking of diverse actors involved in caregiving through a bottom-up approach, thereby increasing the resilience of vulnerable groups.


Project leaflet in 3 languages

> Rumanian
> Slovak
>German

What is the goal of the project?

The goal of MigraCare is to strengthen the resilience of 24-hour caregivers and increase the recognition of their work in society. This is achieved by fostering networking among caregivers through Caregiver Cafés and by developing continuing education opportunities available in Austria and online. Another key objective is to connect 24-hour caregivers with Community Nurses in order to promote sustainable collaboration and establish a link between caregivers and Austria’s existing long-term care network.

Who participates in the project?

24-hour caregivers, researchers, non-profit organizations, social scientists, civil society organizations

How are participants involved in the project?

The project employs qualitative methods of empirical social research and is fundamentally based on the participation of caregivers and their representative organizations throughout all stages of the project—from the preparation of the project proposal to its evaluation. This participatory approach ensures that caregivers are actively involved in shaping, implementing, and assessing the project's activities and outcomes.

What are the results of the project?

Making Live-in Care Work Visible as an Implicit Goal: In addition to the very concrete objectives of MigraCare, an overarching goal was to make the precarious conditions in live-in care work more visible. This goal was pursued by continuously bringing the issue into public and professional discussions—for example, by engaging with other projects, integrating the topic into research activities, and building networks and alliances with organizations and individuals working in related fields. As part of the project, a survey was conducted among live-in caregivers on topics such as training needs, work profiles, and challenges encountered in their work. A total of 225 caregivers participated in the online survey. The results were documented in a report and have already been published. Furthermore, an informational video on violence and sexual harassment in care settings was produced. During the course of the project, a new issue emerged, and it was decided to redirect available resources toward addressing it: the lack of supervision opportunities for advisors working with live-in caregivers. As advisors were part of the MigraCare team, this topic was raised repeatedly. Consequently, a supervision workshop and ongoing supervision sessions were offered to advisors at the partner organization CuraFair. An external supervisor was engaged to carry out this work. Building Connections Between Live-in Caregivers and Community Nurses: Community Nurses, who serve as points of contact for citizens with care and support needs, were sensitized to the working conditions and needs of live-in caregivers through dedicated workshops. Community Nurses are in a position to coordinate care arrangements within local care networks. In cooperation with Gesundheit Österreich GmbH (Austrian Public Health Institute), two online webinars were organized as continuing education opportunities for Community Nurses. These webinars were attended by almost all Community Nurses in Austria. In addition, collaboration between a live-in caregiver and a Community Nurse was practically implemented within one specific care arrangement. Networking Event for Caregivers, Care Recipients, and (Family) Caregivers in Graz: This activity was not originally planned as part of the project. However, thanks to the OIS ZAM Forum Audience Award of the Ludwig Boltzmann Gesellschaft (LBG), which the MigraCare project won in 2023, the event could be additionally organized and funded. The aim was to create a first opportunity for those involved in home-based care and support to engage in dialogue on equal footing, beyond their day-to-day work and care responsibilities, and to jointly develop and formulate shared demands and recommendations.

What value and impact has the project achieved?

For the participating advocacy and stakeholder organizations, stronger networking and collaboration with other partners was achieved, for example with the Austrian Interest Group for Family Caregivers (IG Pflegende Angehörige). For live-in caregivers, connections with Community Nurses were also established, or at the very least Community Nurses were encouraged to engage more actively with the topic and to build their knowledge and awareness of the issues faced by caregivers. This represents an important first step toward ensuring that there is a public point of contact to which caregivers and care-receiving families can turn when facing challenges or problems. Through MigraCare’s networking activities with other civil society projects and initiatives, the topic gained greater visibility, and a wider range of groups and stakeholders were informed about the precarious working and living conditions of live-in caregivers. These networking efforts have already resulted in new collaborative projects focusing on live-in care. Furthermore, an initial step was taken toward strengthening cooperation between live-in caregivers, family caregivers, and Community Nurses. During the course of the project, it also became apparent that our partner organization, CuraFair, increasingly focused on community-building and networking activities through the caregiver cafés, thereby fostering stronger connections among caregivers themselves.

What publications have emerged from the project?

Shaping home care in community: Social networking between migrant live-in careworkers and family caregivers. A case study in Austria (als PDF zum Download)

Gemeinsam Sorge gestalten: Bericht vom Vernetzungstreffen von Personenbetreuer:innen, pflegenden Angehörigen und Personen mit Betreuungsbedarf in Graz (als PDF zum Download)

  • Endbericht der Online-Umfrage mit 24h-Betreuer:innen: Weiterbildungsbedarf bei 24-Stunden-Betreuer:innen in Österreich (Download als PDF)
  • Rezumat general: Situația îngrijirii la domiciliu în sistem 24/ 24 - Endbericht zum Weiterbildungsbedarf bei 24-Stunden-Betreuer:innen in Österreich auf Rumänisch (Download als PDF)
  • Zhrnutie: Situácia v oblasti "24-hodinového" opatrovania - Endbericht zum Weiterbildungsbedarf bei 24-Stunden-Betreuer:innen in Österreich auf Slowakisch (Download als PDF)

Im Projekt sind außerdem Videos über CuraFair und IG24 auf unterschiedlichen Sprachen entstanden, damit möglichst viele 24h-Betreuer:innen sich über die Organisationen informieren können:
Videos über CuraFair

Videos über IG24

Videos über "Gewalt und sexuelle Belästigung in der Personenbetreuung: Was tun?" Die Videos ist im Rahmen des Migra Care Projektes in Zusammenarbeit mit der Frauenberatungsstelle bei sexueller Gewalt TARA und der Gleichbehandlungsanwaltschaft Steiermark entstanden.,