Health Meanings among Foreign Domestic Workers in Singapore: A Culture-Centered Approach

Abstract

Economic migration is integral to processes of globalization, with large numbers of the global poor moving across borders in search of employment in the face of structural adjustment programs and large-scale displacement of the poor from traditional forms of livelihood. One such group are foreign domestic workers (FDWs). In this culture-centered study, we listen to the voices of FDWs in Singapore to understand the key meanings of health held by this group of migrant workers as they negotiate living and working in Singapore. Through the representation of FDW voices at sites where they have previously been excluded, we hope to co-create participatory spaces in national discourse so that policies and interventions can be developed to address the health needs of FDWs. The results represented in this essay are part of a larger project engaging the CCA to foster communicative platforms for structural transformation.