Factors influencing attitudes towards brain drain among nursing students: A path analysis

Background: Brain drain is the migration of trained professionals and scientists from low and middle-income countries to live and work in better conditions in high-income countries. The brain drain and brain drain intentions of qualified nurses have become a global burning issue for healthcare sustainability in low and middle-income countries. In Turkiye, the idea of brain drain has increased among nurses and nursing students. Realizing the factors affecting brain drain intention and how to manage them are crucial for proper planning, health equity, and positive patient outcomes in health care. Objectives: To verify a hypothesized model examining the factors contributing to brain drain intentions among nursing students. Design: A cross-sectional study. Settings and participants: Data were collected from 528 undergraduate nursing students from a health sciences faculty with an online questionnaire sent through a link between December 16, 2021, and February 28, 2022. Methods: A hypothesized model was tested using path analysis. Results: Income level (middle) and income level (low) were indirectly and inversely related to attitudes towards brain drain through the mediating role of satisfaction with life. Sense of belonging to the occupation significantly mediated the indirect effect of concern regarding working conditions (yes) on attitudes towards brain drain. The direct effect of satisfaction with life on attitudes towards brain drain was significant. Sense of belonging to the occupation was indirectly and positively related to attitudes towards brain drain through the mediating role of satisfaction with life. In contrast, the direct effect of the sense of belonging to the occupation on attitudes towards brain drain was not statistically significant. Conclusion: Faculties and governments should consider that brain drain intention is a good predictor of future brain drain. To reduce nursing students' brain drain intentions, policy-driven changes in nurses' working conditions and psychological support for satisfaction with life and a sense of belonging to the occupation in their own country are required.