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Factors that affect the decisions made by skilled professionals to migrate to the UK: A qualitative study of Cypriot migrant and returning physicians.

Factors that affect the decisions made by skilled professionals to migrate to the UK: A qualitative study of Cypriot migrant and returning physicians. Thumbnail


Abstract

Background: Migration theorists have been slow to consider international mobility of physicians as well as the feminisation of medicine and physicians’ migration and identify the key characteristics for efficient physicians’ migration management. This study therefore explored the factors affecting physicians’ migration decision-making processes within the Cypriot and UK context. In doing so it identified the role of gender in this process to facilitate the appropriate development of the local healthcare system, medical education and physicians’ density management.
Methods: This qualitative study combined an analysis of international migration literature and Cyprus’ migration history and relationship with the UK, along with the lived experiences and views of active health care managers and two gender balanced groups of migrant and returning Cypriot physicians; providing a contextualised understanding of Cypriot physicians’ migration.
Findings: As identified through the literature and empirical evidence, the main issues faced by the Cypriot healthcare system were the: absence of a full coverage national health scheme; limited educational and training capacity of the system; lack of proper cooperation between the public and private sectors and the lack of patients’ trust with the system. In addition proper recording and documentation mechanisms were absent, whereas physicians’ migration and health human resources management policies were inefficient. Furthermore, the analysis of physicians’ migration at the level of the individual physician confirmed the complexity of the migration decision-making process and identified that the process could be affected by ‘push-pull’ and ‘retain-return’ factors, the gender of the individual and the positive and negative impact of physicians’ migration on the individual, as well as the home and host country’s context.
Conclusions: This study identified the need for proper monitoring and management of physicians’ density, skill-mix and physicians’ migration flows and the need for efficient partnerships between public and private healthcare sectors. In addition, this study identified that the development of Cypriot medical schools and potential physicians’ migration management policies and improvements in local conditions, should fit the needs of the local healthcare system and the individual physician to facilitate the alleviation of any issues associated with gender inequality.

Publicly Available Date Mar 29, 2024

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