The Migration of Filipino Healthcare Professionals: A Structured Literature Review on Workforce Mobility and Healthcare Sustainability
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.54536/ijphn.v2i2.7892Keywords:
Filipino Healthcare Professionals, Healthcare Workforce Governance, Healthcare Workforce Migration, Structured Literature Review, Workforce SustainabilityAbstract
The migration of Filipino healthcare professionals (FHP) has become a major global
workforce issue with significant implications for healthcare sustainability, workforce equity,
and health system resilience in the Philippines. This structured literature review critically
examined the drivers, experiences, and implications of healthcare migration. Relevant
literature published from January 2019 to May 2026 was systematically identified and
synthesized from peer-reviewed journals, institutional reports, and international health
publications. The findings indicate that economic opportunity, professional advancement,
global labor mobility, and increasing international demand for healthcare workers remain
major drivers of migration. However, migration also reflects deeper structural issues within
the Philippine healthcare system, including inadequate compensation, workforce
dissatisfaction, limited retention mechanisms, and professional inequities. The review
further highlights the professional, cultural, and psychosocial challenges experienced by
FHP, including workplace integration difficulties, discrimination, burnout, and adaptation
to foreign healthcare systems. While migration may provide economic and professional
benefits, continued outward mobility contributes to workforce attrition and increasing
pressure on the domestic healthcare sector. The study emphasizes the necessity of evidence
-informed workforce governance that prioritizes retention strategies, ethical recruitment,
professional support systems, and long-term healthcare workforce sustainability. Future
research should adopt profession-specific and longitudinal approaches to better understand
migration trajectories and workforce outcomes among FHP.
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