Understanding the Challenges Experienced by Immigrant Personal Support Workers (PSWs) during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Evidence from Windsor, Ontario
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic had a substantial impact on the healthcare system globally, with healthcare workers (HCWs) facing several unprecedented challenges. Within the health workforce in Canada, personal support workers (PSWs) play an integral role, notably in providing care for vulnerable populations such as the elderly. The focus of this study was to understand the impact that stigma, labelling and intersectionality had on producing challenges among immigrant PSWs from Windsor, Ontario and surrounding areas. Drawing data from in-depth interviews (n=25), the findings demonstrated that immigrant PSWs faced many challenges during the pandemic, including being stigmatized, being treated poorly by employers and co-workers, workplace safety issues, financial concerns, and stress and anxiety related to family. Overall, the findings revealed that minorities face disproportionate disadvantages in times of crisis. Therefore, the findings from this study could be used to develop policies to better prepare minority groups such as immigrant PSWs for future pandemics.