The International Migration of Nurses in Long-Term Care

ABSTRACT

This article describes five major factors that are affecting patterns of international migration among nurses who work in long-term care settings:

• Demographic drivers–The aging of the populations in developed countries and the low to negative growth in the working-age population will increase the demand for international workers to provide long-term care services.

• Gender and race–A dual labor market of long-term care workers, increasingly made up of women of color, is becoming internationalized by the employment of migrating nurses from developing countries.

• Credentialing–The process of credentialing skilled workers creates barriers to entry for migrating nurses and leads to “decredentialing” where registered nurses work as licensed practical nurses or aides.

• Colonial history and geography–The colonial histories of many European countries and the United States have increased migration from former colonies in developing countries to former colonial powers.

• Worker recruitment–Efforts to limit the recruitment of health care workers from some developing countries have had little effect on migration, in part because much of the recruitment comes through informal channels of family and friends.

KEYWORDS:

• International
• long-term care
• workforce
• nursing

Notes

Aiken, L., Clarke, S., Sloane, D., Sochalski, J., Busse, R., Clark, H., Giovannetti, P., Hunt, J., Rafferty, A., & Shamian, J. (2001). Nurses' reports on hospital care in five countries. Health Affairs (May/June), 43–53.