On March 21st AIA Fellow Gladys Dzansi presented her research program in the colloquium. She is dealing with the influence of digitalisation on the international migration of health workforce from low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). As a trained nurse, she knows the work in this field both as a practitioner and in theoretical reflection.
The functional migration theory argues that people move to explore better economic opportunities, better living conditions and assurance of security. Most of the international mobilities are workforce-driven particularly as in the case of health workers. The shortages and demand for health workers after the COVID-19 pandemic has increased but worse in High Income Countries (HICs). The interplay of technology deployment has deepened the complexity of health workforce migration governance. The key question of Gladys planned scoping review is “How have social media and related digital platforms influenced the migration of health workforce from LMIC to HICs?” One of her presumptions at this stage is that the digital environment is a driver of uncontrolled migration. The activities of recruitment networks have not been included in existing policies and procedures on migration governance. There is the need to anticipate what artificial intelligence solutions can be deployed to monitor and regulate digital technology-driven migration of health workforce and include these in the existing policies and strategies. Governments in LMICs may have to dialogue with HICs to work together to respond to the threats posed by digital technology-driven migration of health workforce.
