Infographic: guiding questions to better understand health worker migration in Europe

Health workers in Europe are leaving their home countries in search of better working conditions and career opportunities elsewhere. However, this limits access to healthcare in the countries they leave behind. Our new infographic shows a set of guiding questions for researchers and policymakers, to better understand the underlying factors of health worker migration in Europe and ultimately steer health workforce policy and improve access to healthcare.

The health workforce crisis in Europe is a shared concern for all Member States of the European Union and neighbouring countries. To realize effective solutions for this crisis, we must examine why health workers are attracted to other countries (‘pull’ factors) and why they leave their home countries (‘push’ factors). While doing so, taking an intersectional approach is essential: it helps us see that migration is the result of individual factors interacting with organizational, health system and societal power structures. Our new infographic can be used as a guide for applying such an approach to health workforce policymaking and research.

Please click on the image below to view the infographic in full, or click here for the PDF version (with clickable links).