Migration of skilled human capital in Turkey: The case of healthcare workers

Turkey has become an important part of the worldwide phenomenon of human capital migration in recent years. Especially in recent years, it has been faced with the migration of qualified healthcare professionals. The aim of this study is to examine the "push and pull reasons" and analyze the effects of health care workers' desire to work abroad as an example of qualified human capital migration in Turkey. The main material for the quantitative analyses of the study is the primary data obtained from online surveys conducted with health workers in the health sector. These data are cross-sectional data obtained in 2023. The survey participants of the study on willingness to work abroad consisted of 260 respondents, 106 of whom were male and 154 of whom were female. Quantitative analyses were conducted with "Structural Equation Modeling" using LISREL 8.72 and SPSS 21 package programs. The findings of the study revealed that individuals working in the health sector in Turkey have a high level of "desire to work abroad". It has been observed that there is a very high level and positive relationship between the "desire to work abroad" of healthcare professionals and the "push reasons" caused by the negative economic, political and social events in the country. Again, it was found that there is a positive and very high level of correlation between "willingness to work abroad" and "attractive reasons", which refers to better opportunities and conditions in countries with relatively developed economic and democratic conditions that make it attractive to work abroad.