Interpersonal Ties and Health Care: Examining the Social Networks of Filipino Migrant Domestic Workers in Hong Kong

Main Article Content

Carlos M. Piocos III
Ron Bridget T. Vilog
Jan Michael Alexandre C. Bernadas

Abstract

This paper explores the relationship between the social networks of Filipino migrant domestic workers (FMDWs) in Hong Kong and the accessibility of health resources, especially for migrant women. This study primarily draws evidence from ethnographic interviews with 20 FMDWs in Hong Kong. Likewise, this analysis also relied on field notes from participant observations during formal meetings and informal activities. This paper reveals that FMDWs strategically use their strong and weak ties in managing risks and accessing resources for their health and well-being by deciding among their social network who and what to share regarding health concerns. They conscientiously negotiate their rights and opportunities with their employers, who can also provide access to social and institutional resources. Finally, FMDWs participate in conversations and discourses on health-related policies of their home and host countries with their social network. By focusing on the social networks of FMDWs in Hong Kong, this paper conceptually and empirically broadens conversations about how migration becomes a social determinant of health. Moreover, it illustrates how migrant social networks are organized, activated, and mobilized around discourses on state-crafted health policies towards migrant women.

Article Details

How to Cite
Piocos III, C. M. ., Vilog, R. B. T. ., & Bernadas, J. M. A. C. . (2021). Interpersonal Ties and Health Care: Examining the Social Networks of Filipino Migrant Domestic Workers in Hong Kong. Journal of Population and Social Studies [JPSS], 30, 86–102. Retrieved from https://so03.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/jpss/article/view/256036
Section
Research Articles
Author Biography

Carlos M. Piocos III, Department of Literature, De La Salle University, Philippines

Corresponding author

References

• Albrecht, T. L., & Goldsmith, D. J. (2003). Social support, social networks, and health. In T. L. Thompson, A. M. Dorsey, K. I. Miller, & R. Parrott (Eds.), Handbook of health communication (pp. 263-284). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers.
• Amnesty International. (2013, November). China: Exploited for profit, failed by governments: Indonesian migrant domestic workers trafficked to Hong Kong (ASA 17/029/2013). https://www.amnesty.org/en/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/asa170292013en.pdf
• Asis, M. B. (1992). The overseas employment program policy. In G. Battistella & A. Paganoni (Eds.), Philippine labor migration: Impact and policy (pp. 68-112). Scalabrini Migration Center.
• Bagley, C., Madrid, S., & Bolitho, F. (1997). Stress factors and mental health adjustment of Filipino domestic workers in Hong Kong. International Social Work 40(4), 373-382. https://doi.org/10.1177/002087289704000402
• Baig, R. B., & Chang, C. W. (2020). Formal and informal social support systems for migrant domestic workers. American Behavioral Scientist, 64(6), 784-801. https://doi.org/10.1177/0002764220910251
• Bernadas, J. M. A. C., & Jiang, L. C. (2016). “Of and beyond medical consequences”: Exploring health information scanning and seeking behaviors of Filipino domestic service workers in Hong Kong. Health Care for Women International, 37(8), 855-871. https://doi.org/10.1080/07399332.2015.1107071
• Burt, R. (1992). Structural holes: The social structure of competition. Harvard University Press.
• Carvalho, R. (2019a, April 15). Filipino domestic worker Baby Jane Allas wins HK$ 30,000 in damages after being fired over cancer diagnosis. South China Morning Post. https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3006252/filipino-domestic-worker-baby-jane-allas-wins-hk30000
• Carvalho, R. (2019b, March 3). Filipino domestic worker in Hong Kong fired after employer found out she has cervical cancer. South China Morning Post. https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/2188385/domestic-worker-hong-kong-fired-after-employer-found-out
• Carvalho, R. (2019c, March 6). Migrant domestic workers prop up Hong Kong's economy, so why are they excluded? South China Morning Post. https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/2188754/migrant-domestic-workers-prop-hong-kongs-economy-so-why-are-they
• Census and Statistics Department Hong Kong. (2018). Foreign domestic workers by nationality and sex [Data set]. Census and Statistics Department Hong Kong. https://www.censtatd.gov.hk/FileManager/EN/Content_1149/T04_49.xlsx
• Collyer, M. (2005). When do social networks fail to explain migration? Accounting for the movement of Algerian asylum-seekers to the UK. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 31(4), 699-718. https://doi.org/10.1080/13691830500109852
• Constable, N. (1999). At home but not at home: Filipina narratives of ambivalent returns. Cultural Anthropology, 14(2), 203-228. https://www.jstor.org/stable/656563
• Crowell, L. F. (2004). Weak ties: a mechanism for helping women expand their social networks and increase their capital. The Social Science Journal, 41(1), 15-28. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soscij.2003.10.002
• Ertel, K. A., Glymour, M. M., & Berkman, L. F. (2009). Social networks and health: A life course perspective integrating observational and experimental evidence. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 26(1), 73-92. https://doi.org/10.1177/0265407509105523
• Granovetter, M. S. (1973). The strength of weak ties. American Journal of Sociology, 78(6), 1360-1380. http://www.jstor.org/stable/2776392
• Hendrikson, H. (2010). Migrant social networks and health care: Exploring the relationship between women's social networks and migrant health care access in the United States. International Journal of Migration, Health and Social Care, 6(1), 3-14. https://doi.org/10.5042/ijmhsc.2010.0445
• Henning, C., & Lieberg, M. (1996). Strong ties or weak ties? Neighbourhood networks in a new perspective. Scandinavian Housing and Planning Research, 13(1), 3-26. https://doi.org/10.1080/02815739608730394
• Hernández-Plaza, S., Alonso-Morillejo, E., & Pozo-Muñoz, C. (2006). Social support interventions in migrant populations. The British Journal of Social Work, 36(7), 1151-1169. http://www.jstor.org/stable/23721354
• Holroyd, E. A., Molassiotis, A., & Taylor-Pilliae, R. E. (2001). Filipino domestic workers in Hong Kong: Health related behaviors, health locus of control and social support. Women & Health, 33(1-2), 181-205. https://doi.org/10.1300/J013v33n01_11
• Hong Kong Immigration Department. (2020). Employment of domestic helpers from abroad. https://www.immd.gov.hk/eng/forms/hk-visas/foreign-domestic-helpers.html
• Hong Kong Labour Department. (2021, June). Practical guide for employment of foreign domestic helpers: what foreign domestic helpers and their employers should know. https://www.fdh.labour.gov.hk/res/pdf/FDHguideEnglish.pdf
• Israel, B. A. (1982). Social networks and health status: Linking theory, research, and practice. Patient Counselling and Health Education, 4(2), 65-79. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0190-2040(82)80002-5
• Iyer, A., Devasahayam, T. W., & Yeoh, B. S. A. (2004). A clean bill of health: Filipinas as domestic workers in Singapore. Asian and Pacific Migration Journal, 13(1), 11-38. https://doi.org/10.1177/011719680401300102
• Kavanaugh, A., Reese, D. D., Carroll, J. M., & Rosson, M. B. (2003). Weak ties in networked communities. In M. Huysman, E. Wenger, & W. Wulf (Eds.), Communities and technologies (pp. 265-286). Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-0115-0_14
• Kim, W., Kreps, G. L., & Shin, C. N. (2015). The role of social support and social networks in health information-seeking behavior among Korean Americans: A qualitative study. International Journal for Equity in Health, 14, 40. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12939-015-0169-8
• Lefebvre, R. C., & Bornkessel, A. S. (2013). Digital social networks and health. Circulation, 127(17), 1829-1836. https://doi.org/10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.112.000897
• Lucas, D. L. (2019, February 16). 2018 remittances hit all-time high. Philippine Daily Inquirer. https://business.inquirer.net/265151/2018-remittances-hit-all-time-high
• Malhotra, R., Arambepola, C., Tarun, S., de Silva, V., Kishore, J., & Østbye, T. (2013). Health issues of female foreign domestic workers: a systematic review of the scientific and gray literature. International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health, 19(4), 261-277. https://doi.org/10.1179/2049396713Y.0000000041
• Marume, A., January, J., & Maradzika, J. (2018). Social capital, health-seeking behavior and quality of life among refugees in Zimbabwe: a cross-sectional study. International Journal of Migration, Health and Social Care, 14(4), 377-386. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJMHSC-04-2017-0017
• Mission for Migrant Workers. (2020, May). Service report 2019. https://www.migrants.net/reports
• Mok, D. (2019, September 28). Hong Kong’s domestic helpers set to get a 2.4 per cent pay rise. South China Morning Post. https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3030737/hong-kongs-domestic-helpers-set-get-24-cent-pay
• Nakonz, J., & Shik, A. W. Y. (2009). And all your problems are gone: religious coping strategies among Philippine migrant workers in Hong Kong. Mental Health, Religion & Culture, 12(1), 25-38. https://doi.org/10.1080/13674670802105252
• Newman, C., Tarp, F., & Van Den Broeck, K. (2014). Social capital, network effects, and savings in rural Vietnam. Review of Income and Wealth, 60(1), 79-99. https://doi.org/10.1111/roiw.12061
• Pérez, E. R., Benavides, F. G., Levecque, K., Love, J. G., Felt, E., & Van Rossem, R. (2012). Differences in working conditions and employment arrangements among migrant and non-migrant workers in Europe. Ethnicity & Health, 17(6), 563-577. https://doi.org/10.1080/13557858.2012.730606
• Pescosolido, B. A., & Levy, J., A. (2002). The role of social networks in health, illness, disease and healing: the accepting present, the forgotten past, and the dangerous potential for a complacent future. In A. L. Judith & A. P. Bernice (Eds.), Social networks and health (Vol. 8, pp. 3-25). Emerald Group Publishing Limited. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1057-6290(02)80019-5
• Pfeffer, M. J., & Parra, P. A. (2009). Strong ties, weak ties, and human capital: Latino immigrant employment outside the enclave. Rural Sociology, 74(2), 241-269. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1549-0831.2009.tb00391.x
• Philippine Statistics Authority. (2019, April 30). Total number of OFWs estimated at 2.3 million (Results from the 2018 survey on overseas Filipinos) [Data set]. Philippine Statistics Authority. https://psa.gov.ph/statistics/survey/labor-and-employment/survey-overseas-filipinos/table/Total%20Number%20of%20OFWs%20Estimated%20at%202.3%20Million%20%28Results%20from%20the%202018%20Survey%20on%20Overseas%20Filipinos%29
• Public Services International. (2015). Return and reintegration to the Philippines: An information guide for migrant Filipino health workers. International Labor Organization. Retrieved May 20, 2020, from http://www.ilo.org/dyn/migpractice/docs/294/Return.pdf
• Robison, L. J., Schmid, A. A., & Siles, M. E. (2002). Is social capital really capital? Review of Social Economy, 60(1), 1-21. https://doi.org/10.1080/00346760110127074
• Ryan, L. (2011). Migrants' social networks and weak ties: Accessing resources and constructing relationships post-migration. The Sociological Review, 59(4), 707-724. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-954X.2011.02030.x
• Smith, K. P., & Christakis, N. A. (2008). Social networks and health. Annual Review of Sociology, 34, 405-429. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.soc.34.040507.134601
• Tata, J., & Prasad, S. (2015). Immigrant family businesses: social capital, network benefits and business performance. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research, 21(6), 842-866. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJEBR-06-2014-0111
• Tong, J. (2019, April 26). Hong Kong is cruel to remove medical safety net for domestic helpers once contract is over. South China Morning Post. https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3007499/hong-kong-cruel-remove-medical-safety-net-domestic-helpers-once
• Tubeza, P. C. (2019, October 14). Stroke downs 32 OFWs in HK. Hong Kong News. http://hongkongnews.com.hk/top_stories/stroke-downs-32-ofws-in-hk/
• Wasserman, S., & Faust, K. (1994). Social network analysis: Methods and applications (Vol. 8). Cambridge University Press.
• Wee, V., & Sim, A. (2005). Hong Kong as destination for migrant domestic workers. In B. S. A. Yeoh, N. A. Rahman, & S. Huang (Eds.), Asian women as transnational domestic workers (pp. 175-209). Marshall Cavendish Lmtd.
• Weisband, E. (2009). The virtues of virtue: Social capital, network governance, and corporate social responsibility. American Behavioral Scientist, 52(6), 905-918. https://doi.org/10.1177/0002764208327665
• Wilson, T. (1998). Weak ties, strong ties: Network principles in Mexican migration. Human Organization, 57(4), 394-403. https://doi.org/10.17730/humo.57.4.pw61g8j535740428
• Wright, K. (2016). Social networks, interpersonal social support, and health outcomes: A health communication perspective. Frontiers in Communication, 1, 10. https://doi.org/10.3389/fcomm.2016.00010