Paper short abstract:

Based on ethnographic research with migrating nurses from India and their aging parents, I uncover the subtle workings of digital technologies on (health)care through transnational care collectives when being physically together is not feasible.

Paper long abstract:

How do digital technologies shape how people care for each other and, through that, extend 'the clinic' into a transnational space? This is a particularly pertinent question today, as technological innovation is on the rise while increasing migration is introducing vast distances among people. The situation has been additionally complicated by the Covid-19 pandemic and the requirements of physical distancing, especially for the most vulnerable – older adults. Based on ethnographic fieldwork with families of migrating nurses from Kerala, India, I explore how digital technologies shape elder care when adult children – professional healthcare workers – and their aging parents live far apart. Drawing on STS theory of material semiotics, I show how these family members enact remote care through 'transnational care collectives.' Within these global assemblages of people and digital technologies care is enacted through specific practices, such as frequent calling. Through calling their parents regularly and in most cases daily, the nurses maintain trust with their parents which is also key to support health at a distance. In this way, the space of 'the clinic' as a physical site of (health)care becomes extended from doctors' offices and hospitals into the transnational space, which in turn impacts on doctor-patient relationships and health outcomes in different geographic sites.