Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
Volume 103, Issue 12 , Pages 1195-1196, December 2009

The lives of Malawian nurses: the stories behind the statistics☆

UCL Centre for International Health and Development, Institute of Child Health, 30 Guilford Street, London WC1N 1EH, UK

Received 2 March 2009; received in revised form 6 March 2009; accepted 6 March 2009.

Summary 

Malawi faces a critical shortage of nurses. Challenging working conditions and poor remuneration have led many nurses to seek employment overseas. This study uses qualitative biographical methods to describe the experiences of migrant Malawian nurses and compares them with the experiences of nurses who remain in Malawi. Choices made about pursuing a nursing career in Malawi, and decisions to migrate, are complex and heavily entwined with nurses’ personal circumstances. In addition, although nurses in Malawi perceive that conditions in the UK are difficult, many still aspire to migrate themselves.

Keywords: Nurses, Human resources, International migration, Malawi

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☆ Based on a presentation to the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine & Hygiene Research in Progress meeting on 18 December 2008. This poster presentation was awarded first prize at the meeting.

PII: S0035-9203(09)00092-3

doi:10.1016/j.trstmh.2009.03.005

Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
Volume 103, Issue 12 , Pages 1195-1196, December 2009

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