Sending State Perspectives on the Global Migration of Indian Nurses

Bibliographic Data

ID9954535
AuthorsMargaret Walton-Roberts (0000-0002-6789-5350, Department of Geography and Environmental Studies Wilfrid Laurier University Waterloo Ontario Canada, corresponding author), Vivien Runnels (0000-0001-8510-6215, School of Sociology and Anthropology University of Ottawa Ottawa Ontario Canada), Irudaya Rajan (0000-0003-0990-5159, Kerala Institute of Medical Sciences), Irudaya Rajan Sebastian (International Institute of Migration and Development Thiruvananthapuram Kerala India), Atul Sood (Centre for the Study of Regional Development Jawaharlal Nehru University New Delhi Delhi India), Sreelekha Nair (Athiyara Madom Devi Temple Lane Thiruvananthapuram Kerala India), Philomina Thomas (R.A.K. College of Nursing New Delhi Delhi India), Corinne Packer (Globalization and Health Equity, Faculty of Medicine University of Ottawa Ottawa Canada), Ronald Labonté (0000-0002-0615-740X, School of Epidemiology and Public Health University of Ottawa Ottawa Canada), Ivy Lynn Bourgeault (0000-0002-5113-9243, School of Sociological and Anthropological Studies and Chair in Gender, Diversity and the Professions University of Ottawa Ottawa Canada)
Year2025
Volume63
Issue5
Publication date2025-08-06
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueInternational Migration (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0020-7985 • E-ISSN: 1468-2435
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/imig.70062
OpenAlexW4413006555
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited37

India has become one of the key sources for the global nursing labour force. While there is significant research on the experiences of Indian‐trained nurses in destination countries and their motivations to migrate, relatively less work explores the role of the sending state in this policy field, and rarely are subregional differences considered. In this paper, we focus on the policies and processes that are designed to or otherwise affect nurse migration from India. We draw upon three sources of data: (1) a scoping review of published literature on health worker migration in India, (2) a survey of 1736 health workers in India and (3) interviews with 60 key political and organisational representatives across two regions of India—Kerala and Punjab—as well as from the Delhi Capital Region. Our assessment of the role of the Indian sending state in the international migration of nurses reveals the existence of contradictory policies that are regionally differentiated and distinct. These important subnational jurisdictional policies differ in terms of context, competencies and coherence in managing health worker migration and its resulting impacts on health systems. This research highlights the need to understand jurisdictional differences in any analysis of sending state perspectives on international health worker migration to more fully assess its implication for domestic health systems and changing dynamics in international migration

Demographic economics · Development economics · Economic geography · Economics · Geography · Political science · State (computer science · Computer Science · Employment and Welfare Studies · Global Health Workforce Issues · Migration and Labor Dynamics

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