Circular migration – an opportunity to overcome the challenges with migration of health professionals

Abstract

The migration of health professionals is a growing worldwide phenomenon which poses a number of challenges to countries. Therefore, in order to find appropriate solutions for health systems, more research that pays attention to the effects of migration and their polar characteristics is being carried out. Recently, it has been suggested that circular migration is one of the most suitable instruments to increase the positive and limit the negative consequences of migration. The aim of the present study is to analyze circular migration as a new instrument that has the potential to help overcome the challenges that migration poses to countries‘ health systems. The methods used include analysis and synthesis of scientific literature and reports of various international and national organizations. The results of a number of studies show that there isn’t a unified definition of circular migration and the proposed ones at an academic and political level vary in nature. The similarities among them are in the explanation of the circular migration as a temporary and repeating movement of people between two countries, and the differences come from the established duration of stay in the host and sending countries and the legal form it takes. There are different reasons that lead to the development of this phenomenon among health professionals, and it is considered that personal motives have the strongest influence on the decision of individuals. Given the dynamic pace at which circular migration is developing, international organizations recommend that countries improve the data collection on circular migration of health professionals, which can serve as an evidence base for policy-making in this area.