Description:
The publication provides an overview of the outcomes of the MoHProf project that aimed to gather more insights into the processes and effects of mobility of health professionals to, from and within the European Union (EU) and which was carried out under the 7th Framework Programme for Research and Development of the EU. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the world was lacking at least 4.2 million health workers in 2006. The European Union (EU) expects a shortage of a million health workers by 2020 and, in addition, health workers are not spread evenly across the region, and spending on health may vary widely. This implies major imbalances, resulting in an environment highly conducive to migration of health workers. Thus, the EU plays a role in the global process of migration of health workers. The enlargement process increased this tendency. Ten countries joined the EU in 2004 (Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia (EU10). Bulgaria and Romania joined the EU in 2007 (EU2). Shortages of health workers have widespread effects, as they may deplete regions and countries of much needed resources. As education and training of health workers are costly and time-consuming, and as major parts of health workers’ education and training may be financed by their countries of qualification, migration of health workers, although a personal freedom, can also represent a loss of investment for the sending country. These factors shaped the relevance of the MoHProf project.