Exploring life satisfaction difference between domestic and international medical graduates: Evidence from a national longitudinal study

ABSTRACT

Background

Studies of doctors’ life satisfaction (subjective well-being) have largely overlooked the specific experiences of international or overseas trained doctors. This study explores any difference in life satisfaction and its determinants between international and domestic medical graduates (i.e. IMGs vs. DMGs), in Australia (a major destination country).

Methods

We pooled eight waves of data from the Medicine in Australia: Balancing Employment and Life (MABEL) longitudinal survey of Australian doctors (2009–2016). Life satisfaction was measured on a standard 10-point scale. We applied Oaxaca and Ransom's linear decomposition method to evaluate factors associated with any observed difference in satisfaction between the two groups of doctors.

Results

IMGs were more likely to report lower life satisfaction than DMGs (mean 7.37 vs 7.48, p-value < 0.001). The well-being gap (of 0.11) was largely attributable to the groups’ differences in observable characteristics such as psychosocial and demographic factors. Most notably, the IMG group was worse off with respect to self-reported financial security, exposure to work-related psychosocial risk factors, and community integration.

Conclusion

Our study highlights the importance of the workplace and community context in understanding the life satisfaction difference between IMGs and DMGs. The study results may have important implications for policies and programs that seek to promote the integration and retention of IMGs.

KEYWORDS:

• Life satisfaction
• international medical graduates
• doctors
• overseas trained doctors
• Australia

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.

Notes on contributors

Amadou Darboe

Amadou Darboe (MSc, PhD) is an Evaluation and Research Officer at the Victorian Department of Health, Australia.

Lesleyanne Hawthorne

Lesleyanne Hawthorne (PhD, MA, BA Hons, Dip Ed, Grad Dip Mig Studies) is Professor - International Workforce in the Centre for Health Policy at the University of Melbourne.

Anthony Scott

Anthony Scott (BA(Hons), MSc, PhD) is Program Co-ordinator the ‘Health and Healthcare’ research theme at the Melbourne Institute: Applied Economic and Social Research at the University of Melbourne.

Matthew McGrail

Matthew McGrail (BSc (Hons), GradDip IT, PhD) is a full-time Senior Research Fellow with the University of Queensland Rural Clinical School, based in Rockhampton. His primary role is Head of Regional Training Hubs Research.