251775 Impact of war on migration of doctors from Iraq

Monday, October 31, 2011: 9:10 AM

Gilbert M. Burnham, MD, PhD , International Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD
     
Much attention has been given to migration of doctors and nurses from low income countries to middle and high income countries. Little attention has been given to migration of health workers from conflict areas. What little information that does exist concerns mostly doctors. Data on doctors do exist from Lebanon, Cuba, Liberia and Zimbabwe. The migration due to conflict has been most carefully documented in Iraq, where in 2006 some 29% of specialists at Baghdad tertiary hospitals left their posts. Other information suggests that many primary health care positions remain unfilled in Iraq, and that key faculty positions in medical schools are vacant because of assassination or migration. Yet in the face of violence some doctors stay, even when there are opportunities for migration. The need to better understand medical migration in conflict situations is important for the rebuilding of services post conflict.

Learning Areas:
Provision of health care to the public
Public health or related public policy
Public health or related research

Learning Objectives:
Describe the experience of migration of doctors in Iraq in response to war Identify factors that contribute to leaving the country vs remaining

Keywords: War, Workforce

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have engaged in researcha and published on this subject
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

See more of: Health Workforce in Conflict Settings
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