Reconfiguring Care over the Phone: Hispanic/Latino Transnational Caregiving for Aging Parents with Chronic Illnesses and/or Disabilities

Background and Purpose:
This study examines the experiences of Hispanic/Latino American transnational caregivers who provide informal care to aging parents with chronic illnesses and/or disabilities residing in their countries of origin. In an increasingly transnational context, care for aging populations is often sustained across borders, yet transnational caregivers remain largely invisible within health and social policy systems. This study situates transnational caregiving within broader questions of equity, recognition, and inclusion in social welfare systems.

Methods:
We are in the process of conducting a total of forty in-depth, semi-structured interviews with Hispanic/Latino adults (ages 30 and above). To be eligible, Hispanic/Latino adults need to have provided transnational care to at least one parent with chronic illnesses and/or disabilities and living in their countries of origin. Participants were recruited in rural Hispanic communities in a Midwestern state via snowball sampling. Interviews concentrated on the content, forms, and technological mediations of care provided across national borders. Interviews were conducted and transcribed verbatim in Spanish and coded at three levels—open, axial, and selective coding—as informed by grounded theory.

Findings:
Preliminary findings indicate that transnational caregiving is a multidimensional process shaped by emotional attachment, culturally embedded family roles, and structural barriers. Care forms are different from those provided in co-presence with parents. Results also show that care responsibilities mainly fall on women, reflecting persistent gender norms within Latin American contexts. Care is primarily enacted through emotional support facilitated by digital communication technologies, while financial support serves as a complementary form of care. Caregiving is further complicated by competing demands in the country of residence, including employment, education, and migration-related stressors, often resulting in emotional strain and guilt. Participants also express resistance to substituting relational care with technological alternatives, emphasizing the importance of physical presence despite the apparent geographical separation. Restrictive immigration and political conditions limit mobility, constraining opportunities for in-person caregiving. Overall, the forms and content of transnational caregiving appear to be mediated by distance, technological skills, constrained mobility, and caregivers’ daily responsibilities in the United States.

Conclusion and Implications:
These findings contribute to social work research by conceptualizing transnational caregiving as a gendered and structurally mediated practice embedded within the globalized division of labor, aging, and family responsibilities. Policy implications highlight the need to advance more inclusive and equitable policy frameworks that recognize transnational caregivers, address barriers to mobility and support, and strengthen the role of social work in promoting well-being across borders as part of the broader globalized call for the common good. The transnational formation of social and political institutions for global policy and advocacy is also discussed.