Factors influencing the migration intention of dental and medical graduates in developing countries

Abstract

Background Migration of skilled health workers could result in shortage of human resources and rising inequalities in service provision in source countries. To date, most of relevant papers are focused on rate and reasons of migration while the need for conducting studies on modelling of factors is more vividly felt. The aim of this review was to determine the factors influencing the migration decisions of medical and dental graduates migrating from developing countries and to introduce a practical conceptual framework for health worker migration. Methods Electronic databases PubMed, Google Scholar and relevant Journals were systematically searched for English language publications from January 2009 to April 2019. The inclusion criteria were: 1) article stated factors affecting migration decisions of medical doctors and/or dentists, 2) the source country in the study was a developing country, 3) participants’ primary qualification country was in a developing country,4) the study used primary data both qualitative or quantitative. Results The search identified 814 articles from which we included 23 full-text studies after applying eligibility checklist. Push and pull theory was the most popular model to describe the migration driving factors. Poor socio-economic situation, political instability, lack of professional and educational opportunities together with family concerns found as strong common push factors that perpetuate migration. The most influencing pull factors were desire for better quality of life, career and training opportunities and financial gain. Conclusions Despite the fact that health workers migrate for different reasons, they follow a same route for decision to stay or leave their own countries. Un-fulfillment of expectations in mother land in addition to media reconstructed reality of life in foreign land can develop a positive attitude for migration Which should be considered before weighing up the push and pull factors of both sides. Key messages A better understanding of the migration motives of health professionals will help health authorities to improve their workforce recruitment and retention strategies and health service planning. Our simple yet comprehensive framework can mainly identify the development of migration desire through combining different models and concepts of migration, behavioral change, values, needs and so on.

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“…A review of the recent literature (up to 2023) on factors influencing doctors’ migration intentions indicated the desire for a better quality of life, career and training opportunities, as well as financial gain as the strongest factors influencing such decisions [ 27 ]. For most graduates, factors such as the level of salaries, work conditions, possibilities of professional development, employment security and stability, as well as linguistic and other cultural factors are frequent push or pull factors [ 39 ].…”