The migration intention of public health professionals in Morocco: Results of a survey

Abstract

The Covid- 19 health crisis that hit the world in 2020 revealed the fragility of the national health system and particularly highlighted the shortage of medical and healthcare care staff.  The crisis has also emphasized an emerging reality, which is the migration of health professionals, particularly to Europe, fueled by a pull policy intended to recruit more doctors and other health professionals to meet the needs of host countries in this area.

The purpose of this article is to examine the phenomenon of the brain drain of health professionals in the public sector in Morocco by adopting hypothetical-deductive approach and conducting a survey on health professionals (doctors, nurses and paramedical staff (other than nurses) working in one of the main hospital structures in Morocco, notably the 20 August 1953 Hospital that belongs to the University Hospital Center of Casablanca, and the Regional Health Center Hospital El Ghassani of Fez, in order to appreciate the potential of migration and the push and pull factors that could encourage them to leave the country.

The survey was conducted based on non-probability sampling technique (non-random) and has targeted 355 persons that responded to the questionnaire through face-to-face interviews or questionnaires administered through head of services. This research showed that 47.3% of the health professionals expressed their intention to migrate against 52.68% who were less willing to migrate.

Keywords: Moroccan public hospitals, Brain drain, Migration intention, Migration of health professionals.

JEL Classification: F22

Paper type: Empirical research.