This article introduces a conceptual framework that integrates feminist ethics of care into social work practice, focusing on the complexities of informal caregiving in Hong Kong. It highlights the often-overlooked role of informal carers in social services and identifies the gaps in current practices. The authors emphasise the need for recognition and resources for carers. This effort addresses the global challenges informal carers face and promotes equitable support systems. It sets a foundation for future research at the intersection of care ethics and social work, fostering a more compassionate approach to caregiving worldwide.
BacchiC (1999) Women, Policy and Politics: The Construction of Policy Problems. London; Thousand Oaks, CA; Delhi, India: Sage.
5.
BacchiC (2009) Analysing Policy: What’s the Problem Represented to Be?London: Pearson Education.
6.
BeachBBélanger-HardyLHardingS, et al. (2022) Caring for the caregiver: Why policy must shift from addressing needs to enabling caregivers to flourish. Frontiers in Public Health10: 997981.
7.
BotesA (2000) A comparison between the ethics of justice and the ethics of care. Journal of Advanced Nursing32(5): 1071–1075.
8.
Broese van GroenouMIDe BoerA (2016) Providing informal care in a changing society. European Journal of Ageing13: 271–279.
9.
BythewayBJohnsonJ (1998) The social construction of ‘carers’. In: SymondsAKellyA (eds) The Social Construction of Community Care. London: Palgrave, pp. 241–253.
10.
CardC (1990) Caring and evil. Hypatia5(1): 101–108.
11.
ChanCYCheungGMartinez-RuizA, et al. (2021) Caregiving burnout of community-dwelling people with dementia in Hong Kong and New Zealand: A cross-sectional study. BMC Geriatrics21: 261.
12.
ChowEOWHoHC (2015) Caregiver strain, age, and psychological well-being of older spousal caregivers in Hong Kong. Journal of Social Work15(5): 479–497.
13.
da Silva MarinhoJBatistaIBdaSilvaNobreRA, et al. (2022) Burden, satisfaction caregiving, and family relations in informal caregivers of older adults. Frontiers in Medicine9: 1059467.
14.
FaugierJSargeantM (1997) Stigma: Its impact on professional responses to the needs of marginalised groups. NT Research2(3): 220–229.
15.
FisherBTrontoJ (1990) Towards a feminist theory of care. In: AbelE.NelsonM (eds) Circles of Care. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press, pp. 36–54.
16.
FriedemannMLBuckwalterKC (2014) Family caregiver role and burden related to gender and family relationships. Journal of Family Nursing20(3): 313–336.
17.
GilliganC (1982) In a Different Voice: Psychological Theory and Women’s Development. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
18.
GoffmanE (1968) Asylums: Essays on the Social Situation of Mental Patients and Other Inmates. Harmondsworth: Penguin.
19.
GrahamH (1983) Caring: A labour of love. In: FinchJGrovesD (eds) A Labour of Love: Women, Work and Caring. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, pp. 13–30.
20.
GuttmannD (2013) Ethics in Social Work: A Context of Caring. London: Routledge.
21.
HalwaniR (2003) Care ethics and virtue ethics. Hypatia18(3): 161–192.
22.
HeldV (ed.) (1995) Justice and Care: Essential Readings in Feminist Ethics. Boulder, CO: Westview.
23.
HeldV (2005) The Ethics of Care: Personal, Political, and Global. New York: Oxford University Press.
HolroydE (2001) Hong Kong Chinese daughters’ intergenerational caregiving obligations: A cultural model approach. Social Science & Medicine53(9): 1125–1134.
Jockey Club Carer Space Project (2024) Jockey club carer space project. Available at: https://www.jccarerspace.hk/ (accessed 4 December 2024).
28.
KamPK (2020) ‘Social work is not just a job’: The qualities of social workers from the perspective of service users. Journal of Social Work20(6): 775–796.
29.
KerrMEBowenM (1988) Family Evaluation: An Approach Based on Bowen Theory. New York: Norton.
30.
KoggelCOrmeJ (2010) Care ethics: New theories and applications. Ethics and Social Welfare4(2): 109–114.
31.
KraftMEFurlongSR (2019) Public Policy: Politics, Analysis, and Alternatives. Washington, DC: CQ Press.
LiKKLeungCLYeungD, et al. (2023) Development and validation of the caregiver needs and resources assessment. Frontiers in Psychology14: 1063440.
34.
LoSKW (2022) Informal caregivers in Hong Kong: A review and an agenda for policy development. Hong Kong Journal of Social Work56(01n02): 135–161.
35.
LoSKWLindsayJ (2022) ‘My children’, ‘my grandchildren’: Navigating intergenerational ambivalence in grandparent childcare arrangements in Hong Kong. Family Relations71(4): 1834–1851.
36.
MakWWHoGS (2007) Caregiving perceptions of Chinese mothers of children with intellectual disability in Hong Kong. Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities20(2): 145–156.
37.
McDowellL (2004) Work, workfare, work/life balance and an ethic of care. Progress in human geography28(2): 145–163.
38.
MontgomeryRJKosloskiKD (2013) Pathways to a caregiver identity and implications for support services. In: TalleyRDMontgomeryRJV (eds) Caregiving across the Life Span: Research Practice and Policy. New York: Springer, pp. 131–156.
39.
MorelN (2007) From subsidiarity to ‘free choice’: Child- and elder-care policy reforms in France, Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands. Social Policy and Administration41(6): 618–637.
40.
NoddingsN (1984) Caring, A Feminine Approach to Ethics and Moral Education. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
41.
NoddingsN (2002) Starting at Home: Caring and Social Policy. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
42.
O’LearyPTsuiMS (2023) Walking with and empowering family caregivers: Roles and functions of social workers. International Social Work66(6): 1637–1638.
43.
PeaseBVreugdenhilAStanfordS (2018) Critical Ethics of Care in Social Work: Transforming the Politics and Practices of Caring. London: Routledge.
44.
PickardL (2001) Carer break or carer-blind? Policies for informal carers in the UK. Social Policy & Administration35(4): 441–458.
45.
RaghuramP (2012) Global care, local configurations – challenges to conceptualizations of care. Global Networks12(2): 155–174.
46.
RobinsonF (2015) Care, gender and global social justice: Rethinking ethical globalisation. Journal of Global Ethics2(1): 5–25.
47.
RuddickS (1995) Maternal Thinking: Toward a Politics of Peace (2nd edn). Boston, MA: Beacon Press.
48.
SatirV (1988) The New People Making. Palo Alto, CA: Science and Behavior Books.
49.
SchulzRBeachSRCzajaSJ, et al. (2020) Family caregiving for older adults. Annual Review of Psychology71: 635–659.
50.
SheaforBWHorejsiCR (2012) Techniques and Guidelines for Social Work Practice (9th edn). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Allyn & Bacon.
51.
StewartDW (2014) What is policy? And why it matters. Journal of Public Policy & Marketing33(1): 1–3.
52.
TrontoJ (1993) Moral Boundaries: A Political Argument for an Ethic of Care. New York: Routledge.
53.
Tur-SinaiATetiARommelA, et al. (2020) How many older informal caregivers are there in Europe? Comparison of estimates of their prevalence from three European surveys. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health17(24): 9531.
54.
UN Women (2014) Reading Paper Series on Care Economy (Training course material). New York: UN Women Training Centre.
55.
YiuHCZangYChauJPC (2020) Barriers and facilitators in the use of formal dementia care for dementia sufferers: A qualitative study with Chinese family caregivers in Hong Kong. Geriatric Nursing41(6): 885–890.
