Care drain: the political making of health worker migration
Journal of Public Health Policy
2011
32
4
489-498
labour law ; labour shortage ; healthcare worker ; migration policy
Austria ; developing countries
Social protection - Health policy
English
Bibliogr.
"Migration of formal and informal health-care workers is a global phenomenon – and, as this article demonstrates, one that is produced by government policies and practices. Nurses and lesser-trained caregivers migrate from many lower-income countries to richer ones (including from the Philippines to the United States, from South Africa to England, from Central Asia to Turkey). Using the Austrian experience to illustrate how policies and lack of enforcement of labor laws lead to migration and mistreatment of health-care professionals and informal caregivers, this article recommends how to alleviate health-care staff shortages in Africa and elsewhere through policymaking in Europe and North America. Recognition of the political dimensions of health-care migration is the first step toward addressing ethical questions and damaging shortages of caregivers."
Paper
The ETUI is co-funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the ETUI.