Perceived control among migrant live-in and local live-out home care workers in Israel

Objective: To examine perceived control among live-in and live-out home care workers and to identify factors that contribute to perceived control among both types of caregiving. Method: 338 migrant live-in home care workers and 185 local live-out home care workers were asked to report their perceived control. Burnout, satisfaction with the relationship with the care recipient and the care recipient's family, and satisfaction with social relationship were also gathered. Results: Both types of caregivers reported high levels of perceived control, although live-in home care workers expressed more perceived control. Higher age, higher levels of satisfaction with the relationship with the care recipient and the care recipient's family and lower levels of burnout, predicted perceived control. Satisfaction with social relationship was a stronger predictor of one's perceived control among live-in home care workers. Conclusions: Promoting social relationships outside the home care context by allowing migrant live-in home care workers to take part in social gatherings is recommended as this can strengthen their sense of perceived control.