In this article, I present a Foucauldian analysis of the speeches made by the then Prime Minister of Australia (Mr. Scott Morrison) in March 2020. This analysis sets out to explore the political ...rationalities that assembled COVID-19 as a particular type of ‘problem’ that warranted unprecedented governmental intervention into the everyday lives of citizens. I believe that the insights provided by such an analysis are relevant to ongoing examination of governing in liberal democracies both during a crisis and afterwards.
The rate of international migration for the primary purpose of employment has increased exponentially in recent decades. A significant proportion of this global movement takes place across East and ...Southeast Asia as workers move on a temporary basis from lower-middle-income home countries such as Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam to high-income host destinations including Hong Kong and Singapore. Relatively little is known about the unique and long-term health needs of this heterogeneous group of people. This systematic review presents an analysis of recent research into the experiences and perceptions of health of temporary migrant workers in the East and Southeast Asian regions.
Five electronic databases CINAHL Complete (via EbscoHost), EMBASE (including Medline), PsycINFO (via ProQuest), PubMed and Web of Science, were systematically searched for qualitative or mixed methods, peer-reviewed literature published in print or online between January 2010 and December 2020. Quality of the studies was assessed using the Critical Appraisal Checklist for Qualitative Research published by the Joanna Briggs Institute. Findings from the included articles were extracted and synthesised using qualitative thematic analysis.
Eight articles were included in the review. Findings from this review indicate that multiple dimensions of workers' health is impacted by the processes of temporary migration. In addition, the research reviewed indicated that migrant workers used various strategies and mechanisms to attempt to address their health-related issues and to take better care of themselves. Such agentic practices could help them manage and maintain their health and wellbeing across physical, psychological and spiritual dimensions within the structural constraints of their employment.
Limited published research has focused on the health perceptions and needs of temporary migrant workers in East and Southeast Asia. The studies included in this review focused on female migrant domestic workers in Hong Kong, Singapore, and the Philippines. These studies provide valuable insights but do not reflect the heterogeneity of migrants moving within these regions. The findings of this systematic review highlight that temporary migrant workers experience high and sustained levels of stress and are exposed to certain health risks which may compromise long-term health outcomes. These workers demonstrate knowledge and skills in managing their own health. This suggests that strength-based approaches to health promotion interventions may be effective in optimising their health over time. These findings are relevant to policy makers and non-government organisations supporting migrant workers.
Ageing populations and rising rates of chronic disease globally have shifted key elements of disease management to ideas of integrated care and self‐management. The associated policies and programmes ...often focus on intervention and support beyond the sites of the hospital and clinic. These shifts have significantly impacted the delivery and practice of nursing for both nurses and the clients with whom they work. This article argues that Foucault's comments on space, place and heterotopia (1986) are useful in exploring these changes from a philosophical perspective, to draw out the complexity of these programmes and add texture to discussions on the ways these shifts to localisation and the dominant discourses of self‐management and responsibility have reconfigured nursing practices. The theoretical discussion is augmented with illustrations from an Australian integrated health care programme.
This article explores the unique contribution that Foucault’s work on genealogy and governmentality can make to the analysis of contemporary programs of government. The article uses an Australian ...study of the ‘problem’ of chronic illness to argue that this perspective offers valuable insights into how ‘problems’ such as chronic illness have become linked to advanced liberal discourses and practices of self-governing and self-responsibility. These insights are particularly valuable in fields such as primary health care that have a noted shortage of critical and reflective studies that explore the links between people and changing ideas of health and disease. This article details how taking up an analytics of governmentality and political genealogy informed by Foucault, facilitated the tracing of the dominant discourses and practices, and the connections to the day-to -day lives of the clients with chronic diseases. Importantly, this approach opened up a more critical consideration of the ways in which dispersed approaches to governing through programs, such as integrated care, shape and influence the lives of individuals. These dispersed ways of governing are not linear but rather unfold through ongoing relays, connections and the (re)production of discourses.
BACKGROUNDHong Kong Special Administrative Region is one of the most technologically advanced and interconnected cities in the world in terms of ownership of internet-enabled mobile devices. mHealth ...programs that make use of mobile devices such as smart phones and tablets to maximise access to health information, have been identified as having great potential for ageing communities for the management of health and social care needs. This paper reports the findings of a two-stage exploratory research project which examined the experiences and perceptions of Hong Kong residents aged over 60 years in relation to mHealth technologies and health literacy. METHODSThis study collected data from older Hong Kong residents at a community centre. Data were collected at two stages in July and August 2019. Stage one involved a one-on-one interview at Centre A with each research participant. The self-report surveys included seven questions about mobile phone ownership and a 16-item gerontechnology survey previously used in Hong Kong. Stage two of the data collection involved three discussion groups with the research participants that were run over a 3-week period. RESULTS(I) Providing health information via digital devices was considered promising and acceptable by most of our participants. (II) Major concerns that impeded the elders' use of digital devices were their lack of the necessary skills to use these gadgets and their loss of memory. (III) Many participants stated their concern that they found it difficult to recall information immediately after being taught. (IV) Most participants had problems in reading because of low literacy levels or some age-related eye-diseases. (V) Video instructions were preferred by participants as audio and visual input is more useful than rather than static written information with heavy reading requirements. CONCLUSIONSParticipants were interested in using mHealth technologies. Education and ongoing support in their use is necessary.
Communication at the end-of-life (EOL) is complex and multidimensional. Although culture is acknowledged as a key influence, there remains a gap in knowledge about intracultural aspects of EOL ...communication in the Chinese context. This review presents a synthesis of practitioners’ accounts of communication at the EOL in Hong Kong, Mainland China and Taiwan.
This review was registered prospectively on PROSPERO (CRD42021297052). Five databases were systematically searched using the terms ‘communication’, ‘End-of-Life’, ‘Hong Kong’, ‘China’ and ‘Taiwan’. Empirical research published between 2015 and 2021 was downloaded and appraised. Fifteen articles were included in the review.
Findings highlight the influence of Chinese culture and philosophy, inadequate communication skills training and psychological support for practitioners and legislative and organisational factors.
Education and training for practitioners and public education about the EOL needs strengthening. Enhanced understanding of how culture influences EOL communication will strengthen service delivery and enhance awareness in multicultural communities.
EOL workers need practical and workplace-based support to engage in meaningful communication practices. The influence of culture and the readiness of patients and families to engage in communication are also important considerations.
•End-of-life (EOL) communication is influenced by cultural and contextual factors.•Understanding of East Asian perspectives on EOL communication needs development.•This review synthesises studies from Hong Kong, Mainland China and Taiwan.•Findings highlight key influences and communication strategies for practitioners.•Insights are relevant to practitioners across multicultural communities.
Diagnoses of breast cancer are continuing to increase in the Philippines, but little is known about incidence rates among the significant number of Filipino women working abroad as migrant domestic ...workers (MDWs). These women are often the main income providers for their families, and their ability to work depends upon their physical health and strength. In this article, we use interpretive phenomenological analysis to explore the experiences of 10 MDWs from the Philippines who were diagnosed with breast cancer during a period of employment in Hong Kong. Analysis of these narratives revealed numerous points at which their status as temporary, transnational migrant workers intersected with their experiences of breast cancer detection, diagnosis, and treatment. We argue that these women’s experiences of breast cancer were shaped by the structures of migration that link the Philippines with host destinations like Hong Kong. These structures create a unique context in which these women had to constantly renegotiate their identities as migrants, financial providers, and breast cancer patients.
Periods of localised social unrest are increasing in frequency and are usually described in terms of crisis. Events that unfold during these periods are often recounted retrospectively once a sense ...of stability has emerged. In contrast, this article contributes an empirical analysis of identity work undertaken by a group of individuals amid an unfolding crisis by drawing on interview data collected in one Hong Kong University across December 2019 and January 2020. We frame our analysis with the concept of liminality which draws attention to the space or state of in-between-ness occupied by people as they navigate and work to transition from ‘before’ to ‘after’ a time of great change. We explore linguistic representations of liminality by analysing the use of metaphors in these interview narratives. Metaphors, in this context, are considered key markers of complex cognitive and psychological processing. Findings of this analysis indicate the dominance of (dis)orientation to time and uncertainty about the future which are associated with liminality and identity work.
•Incidences of crisis are increasing globally.•Little is known about how people work to make sense of unfolding crisis events.•We draw on interviews collected in Hong Kong in November 2019 and January 2020.•We use liminality and metaphors to explore the narration of crisis.•Findings highlight a sense of disorientation and uncertainty.
The use of personal protective equipment (PPE) in emergency departments (EDs) is an important defense during infectious disease emergencies. However, what counts as appropriate PPE in EDs is ...contentious and inconsistently implemented in practice.
An online scenario-based video survey was distributed through purposive sampling, and completed by 270 ED and infection prevention and control clinicians in Australia. A descriptive content analysis was performed on the data, and differences between groups were tested using Fisher exact test.
Participants agreed that most items were required in both scenarios. Eye protection, mask use, and hand hygiene frequency were more contentious. Physicians were more likely than nurses, and ED clinicians more likely than infection prevention and control clinicians, to regard items or actions as optional rather than essential. Many ED clinicians, particularly physicians, regarded sequences as too time-consuming to be practical in a busy ED.
Our findings likely reflect differences in professional roles, competing priorities, and risks, and highlight important contextual characteristics of EDs, such as diagnostic uncertainty, equipment inaccessibility, and resource constraints.
To be feasible, practicable, and thereby effective, PPE guidance in the ED must be designed collaboratively with frontline ED staff, and reflects the complexities of their practice.
•Personal protective equipment (PPE) in emergency departments (EDs) can be contentious•Infection control and ED clinicians agree on the necessity of most PPE items.•ED clinicians find PPE guidance less practicable than infection control clinicians.•Infection prevention guidelines for EDs must be designed for ED contexts.
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