Immigration projects among young doctors in Tunisia: Prevalence, destinations and causes

Abstract

Introduction The shortage of doctors has become a worrying problem in Tunisia. It is influenced by the phenomenon of immigration which remains poorly studied despite its magnitude. Objectives To describe the migration intentions of Tunisian young doctors and to identify the associated factors that influence their decisions. Methods This is a cross-sectional, analytical survey conducted between January and June 2019. It included all young doctors practicing in academic hospitals of Sousse (Tunisia). Data collection was based on a standardized self-administered questionnaire. Results A total of 182 valid questionnaires were collected. The median age was 26.9±2.5 years and the sex-ratio was 0.47. Immigration projects were reported by 38.5% of participants. The main destination was France (36.3%%). The main contributing factors were marital status (p<10-3), resident status (p=0.002), surgical specialty (p<10-3), personal dissatisfaction (p=0.003), underpayment (p<10-3), workload and difficult work conditions (p<10-3), lack of appropriate training (p<10-3), financial crisis and economic instability (p<10-3), lack of a clear strategy for the healthcare system (p=0.005) and the impression by the model of other doctors who left Tunisia (p=0.01). Conclusions The rate of migration intentions expressed in this study highlights the emergent need of interventions emanating from the Tunisian health-care system’s problems in order to stop the flow of young doctors towards developed countries in quest of better conditions. Disclosure No significant relationships.