Proceedings of the 8th World Conference on Qualitative Research

Introduction:
Transnational carer employees (TCEs) are immigrants working in paid employment in Canada and providing unpaid care to family and/or friends across nations. Unpaid care can include emotional, physical and/or financial support. From our recent research we know that, due to increased migration and global aging, transnational caregiving plays an increasingly significant role in supporting work-family integration in Canadian society (Sethi, 2022). Yet, there is limited research exploring visible minority TCEs’ (VM TCEs') experiences in Canada.

Goals & Methods:
In 2019-2021 we employed arts-based qualitative inquiry to better understand the caregiving experiences of VM TCEs. Previous applications of arts-based inquiry in carework research are limited to carers from one setting or geography. Addressing this gap, we conducted open-ended English, Spanish, and Arabic interviews with 21 racialized immigrants (11 female and 13 male) from 10 different countries now living in Ontario, Canada. We gave participants the option to submit art pieces that they felt were representative of their transnational experience. Submitted work included objects/images created by loved ones, and pictures of care recipients across international borders (n=18). Using qualitative analysis software, our paper triangulates these art pieces with narrative data, using a semiotic framework. In doing so, we provide an innovative way of understanding the VM TCE experience.

Results:
Findings show that experiences of transnational care rely on emotional bonds to those ‘back home.’ Many pieces point to experiences of ‘missing,’ ‘remembering,’ and emotional connection to their care recipients. Arts-based analysis revealed wholistic insights into the emotional, social, and cognitive aspects of transnational carework, providing a unique cross-cultural perspective on an increasingly common experience: transnational care.

Conclusion:
The research provides a cross-cultural, layered, and wholistic perspective on transnational care by VM TCEs and can be useful to inform the implementation of workplace and social supports for TCEs in Canada.