Measuring the Migration of Nurses from the Bahamas: Why so Low, Relative to other Caribbean Nations?

The migration rates of nurses from the Caribbean are difficult to measure. No standard data sources exist to monitor out-migration across the Caribbean. The purpose of this study was to collect primary data on the migration patterns of Bahamian nurses registered between 1994 and 2005, and educated at the College of the Bahamas.

We used an established social network identification method developed by Delanyo Dovlo to identify whether (and to where) Bahamian nurses had migrated. We collected nursing registrants' records from the Nursing Council of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, and contacted by telephone two nurses per registration year. Interviewees were asked to recall each of her graduating year classmates as their names were read, and identify the current location of each.

Ninety-six percent of those nurses registered during the study were located during the location exercise, in part because of an improvement on the Dovlo method -- calling a nurse leader to locate nursing classmates. Between 1994 and 2005, only ten of 295 nurses were confirmed to have migrated from the Bahamas and seven had probably migrated. Conversely, foreign-born registration increased greatly in 1997 and 1998. We will share theories about why Bahamian nurses migrate in smaller numbers than their neighboring countries.

The sudden increase in in-migration and comparatively low rates of out-migration pose opportunities for further research. Future studies using social network identification to characterize workforce migration patterns should include our modification (interview of a class leader) to confirm the location of a wider range of people than the average participant.