ArticleBMC health services research2019
What is the financial incentive to immigrate? An analysis of salary disparities between health workers working in the Caribbean and popular destination countries.
Article in BMC health services research, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed.
- Can financial retention incentives slow health worker migration? PPP-adjusted salary differentials in Zimbabwe's donor-dependent health system.Human resources for health · 2026Article
- Spatiotemporal dynamics and driving factors of human resources for health in traditional Chinese medicine in China.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Understanding why oral health professionals migrate: A qualitative investigation of Iranian dentists who have moved to Canada (Oral health professionals' migration).Global health action · 2023Article
- The factors that are associated with nurse immigration in lower- and middle-income countries: An integrative review.Nursing open · 2023Review
- Palliative care integration: a critical review of nurse migration effect in Jamaica.BMC palliative care · 2021Review
- Caribbean nurse migration-a scoping review.Human resources for health · 2020Article
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Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe continuous migration of Human Resources for Health (HRH) compromises the quality of health services in the developing supplying countries. The ability to increase earnings potentially serves as a strong motivator for HRH to migrate abroad. This study adds to limited available literature on HRH salaries within the Caribbean region and establishes the wage gap between selected Caribbean and popular destination countries.
methodsSalaries are reported for registered nurses, medical doctors and specialists. Within these cadres, experience is incorporated at three different levels. Earnings are compared using purchasing power parity (PPP) exchange rates allowing for cost of living adjusted salary differentials, awarded to different levels of work experience for the chosen health cadres in the selected Caribbean countries (Jamaica, Dominica, St Lucia and Grenada) and the three destination countries (United States, United Kingdom and Canada).
resultsRegistered nurses in the destination countries, across all experience levels, have greater spending power compared to their Caribbean counterparts. Recently qualified registered nurses earn substantially more in the UK (86.4%), US (214.2%) and Canada (182.5% more). The highest PPP salary ($) gap amongst more experienced nurses (5-10 years) is found within the US, with a gap of 163.9%. PPP salary gaps amongst medical doctors were pronounced, with experienced cadres (10-20 years of experience) in the US earning 316.3% more than their Caribbean counterparts, whilst UK doctors (183.5%) and Canadian doctors (251.3%) also earning significantly more. Large salary differentials remained for medical specialists and consultants. US specialist salaries were 540.4% higher than their Caribbean based counterparts, whilst UK and Canadian specialists earned 95.2 and 181.6% more respectively.
conclusionThe PPP adjusted HRH salaries in the three destination countries are superior to those of comparable HRH working in the Caribbean countries selected. The extent of the salary gaps vary according to country and the health cadre under examination, but remain considerable even for newly qualified HRH. The financial incentive to migrate for HRH trained and working in the Caribbean region remains strong, with governments having to consider earning potential abroad when formulating policies and strategies aimed at retaining health professionals.
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