Beyond Just Giving Care: Exploring the Role of Culture in Chinese American Personal Care Aides' Work.

As the number of older Chinese Americans with immigration background increases, there is a growing need for Chinese American personal care aides (CA-PCAs) to assist them with aging at home by providing culturally congruent and linguistically competent service. However, little is known about how culture factors into the caregiving process and influences CA-PCAs' well-being. In this study, two focus groups were conducted with ten immigrant CA-PCAs and conventional content analysis was used to analyze the qualitative data. Seven cultural themes were identified, including guanxi (relationship), renqing (favor), mianzi/lian (face), hierarchy and authority, communication, harmony, and elder respect. By drawing attention to the idiosyncratic cultural landscape and entailed challenges faced by underrepresented CA-PCAs, the investigators corroborate the importance of cultural sensitivity for working with ethnic minority non-familial caregivers. The findings shed light on cultural factors that can be targeted by culturally sensitive direct practices, programs, and policies.