The views of migrant health workers living in Austria and Belgium on return migration to sub-Saharan Africa.

BACKGROUND: The negative consequences of the brain drain of sub-Saharan African health workers for source countries are well documented and include understaffed facilities, decreased standards of care and higher workloads. However, studies suggest that, if migrated health workers eventually return to their home countries, this may lead to beneficial effects following the transfer of their acquired skills and knowledge (brain gain). The present study aims to explore the factors influencing the intentions for return migration of sub-Saharan African health workers who emigrated to Austria and Belgium, and gain further insight into the potential of circular migration. METHODS: Semi-structured interviews with 27 sub-Saharan African health workers in Belgium and Austria were conducted. RESULTS: As mentioned by the respondents, the main barriers for returning were family, structural crises in the source country, and insecurity. These barriers overrule the perceived drivers, which were nearly all pull factors and emotion driven. Despite the fact that only a minority plans to return permanently, many wish to return regularly to work in the healthcare sector or to contribute to the development of their source country. CONCLUSION: As long as safety and structural stability cannot be guaranteed in source countries, the number of return migrants is likely to remain low. National governments and regional organizations could play a role in facilitating the engagement of migrant health workers in the development of the healthcare system in source countries.

Diaspora engagement of African migrant health workers - examples from five destination countries.

BACKGROUND: Migrant health workers fill care gaps in their destination countries, but they also actively engage in improving living conditions for people of their countries of origin through expatriate professional networks. This paper aims to explore the professional links that migrant health workers from sub-Saharan African countries living in five African and European destinations (Botswana, South Africa, Belgium, Austria, and the United Kingdom) have to their countries of origin. DESIGN: Qualitative interviews were conducted with migrant doctors, nurses, and midwives from sub-Saharan Africa (N=66). A qualitative content analysis of the material was performed using the software ATLAS.ti. RESULTS: Almost all migrant health workers have professional ties with their countries of origin supporting health, education, and social structures. They work with non-governmental organizations, universities, or hospitals and travel back and forth between their destination country and country of origin. For a few respondents, professional engagement or even maintaining private contacts in their country of origin is difficult due to the political situation at home. CONCLUSIONS: The results show that African migrant health workers are actively engaged in improving living conditions not only for their family members but also for the population in general in their countries of origin. Our respondents are mediators and active networkers in a globalized and transnationally connected world. The research suggests that the governments of these countries of origin could strategically use their migrant health workforce for improving education and population health in sub-Saharan Africa. Destination countries should be reminded of their need to comply with the WHO Global Code of Practice for the international recruitment of health professionals.

The inverse primary care law in sub-Saharan Africa: a qualitative study of the views of migrant health workers.

BACKGROUND: Many low-income and middle-income countries globally are now pursuing ambitious plans for universal primary care, but are failing to deliver adequate care quality because of intractable human resource problems. AIM: To understand why migrant nurses and doctors from sub-Saharan Africa did not wish to take up available posts in primary and first-contact care in their home countries. DESIGN AND SETTING: Qualitative study of migrant health workers to Europe (UK, Belgium, and Austria) or southern Africa (Botswana and South Africa) from sub-Saharan Africa. METHOD: Semi-structured interviews with 66 health workers (24 nurses and 42 doctors) from 18 countries between July 2011 and April 2012. Transcripts were analysed thematically using a framework approach. RESULTS: The reasons given for choosing not to work in primary care were grouped into three main analytic streams: poor working environment, difficult living experiences, and poor career path. Responders described a lack of basic medicines and equipment, an unmanageable workload, and lack of professional support. Many had concerns about personal security, living conditions (such as education for children), and poor income. Primary care was seen as lower status than hospital medicine, with lack of specialist training opportunities and more exposure to corruption. CONCLUSIONS: Clinicians are reluctant to work in the conditions they currently experience in primary care in sub-Saharan Africa and these conditions tend to get worse as poverty and need for primary care increases. This inverse primary care law undermines achievement of universal health coverage. Policy experience from countries outside Africa shows that it is not immutable.

Why sub-Saharan African health workers migrate to European countries that do not actively recruit: a qualitative study post-migration.

BACKGROUND: Many studies have investigated the migration intentions of sub-Saharan African medical students and health professionals within the context of a legacy of active international recruitment by receiving countries. However, many health workers migrate outside of this recruitment paradigm. This paper aims to explore the reasons for migration of health workers from sub-Saharan Africa to Belgium and Austria; European countries without a history of active recruitment in sub-Saharan Africa. METHODS: Data were collected using semistructured interviews. Twenty-seven health workers were interviewed about their migration experiences. Included participants were born in sub-Saharan Africa, had trained as health workers in sub-Saharan Africa, and were currently living in Belgium or Austria, though not necessarily currently working as a health professional. RESULTS: Both Austria and Belgium were shown not to be target countries for the health workers, who instead moved there by circumstance, rather than choice. Three principal reasons for migration were reported: 1) educational purposes; 2) political instability or insecurity in their country of origin; and 3) family reunification. In addition, two respondents mentioned medical reasons and, although less explicit, economic factors were also involved in several of the respondents' decision to migrate. CONCLUSION: These results highlight the importance of the broader economic, social, and political context within which migration decisions are made. Training opportunities proved to be an important factor for migration. A further development and upgrade of primary care might help to counter the common desire to specialize and improve domestic training opportunities.

Social differences in postponing a General Practitioner visit in Flanders, Belgium: which low-income patients are most at risk?

One of the main goals of primary care is providing equitable health-care, meaning equal access, equal treatment and equal outcomes of healthcare for all in equal need. Some studies show that patients from lower socioeconomic groups visit a GP more often, while other studies show that they are more likely to postpone a visit to a GP. In this study, we want to explore within the social group of low-income patients living in Flanders, Belgium, which patients have a higher risk of postponing a visit to a GP. A face-to-face questionnaire was administered among 606 low-income users of Public Social Services. The questionnaire consisted of questions on socioeconomic and demographic characteristics, social networks, health and healthcare use. A multivariate logistic regression model was built to study the relationship between postponing or cancelling a GP visit which respondents thought they needed and variables on health, socio-demographic background. The multivariate regression indicates that depression, self-rated health and trust in the GP independently predict postponing a visit to a GP. Low-income people with a low trust in the GP, people with a poor self-rated health and people suffering from a severe depression are more likely to postpone or cancel a GP visit they thought they needed compared to other people on low incomes. This might indicate that the access to health-care for low-income people might be hindered by barriers which are not directly linked to the cost of the consultation.