Abroad Migration Intention among Nursing Students of Selected Nursing Colleges of the Kaski District

Abstract

Background: Nepal has a long history of nurses migrating abroad, with an estimated 10,000 nurses leaving the country annually. The United Kingdom, the United States of America, Australia, and Canada are the primary destinations for Nepali nurses seeking better economic opportunities and quality of life. This study aims to explore the intention of nursing students enrolled in pre-registered nursing programs in selected colleges in Kaski District to migrate abroad for employment.

Methods: The study adopted a descriptive cross-sectional research design and selected four colleges out of seven using a simple random sampling technique. The study included only PCL nursing 3rd year and B.Sc. nursing 4th year students, with a total of 164 nursing students enrolled through simple random sampling. Data was collected using a self-developed, structured questionnaire and analyzed using SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences), version 16. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze the data in accordance with the study's objectives.

Results: This study found that the mean age of the respondents was 20.22±2.04 years, with 95.7% of them being female. Additionally, 93.3% of the respondents expressed an intention to migrate abroad, with only 6.7% of nurses not willing to do so. Furthermore, 30.1% of the respondents preferred Australia as their destination. The study also revealed that a majority of respondents from low socioeconomic backgrounds were planning to migrate abroad, with 54.9% citing responsibility towards family as a major reason for their migration preference. The study also found a statistically significant relationship between intention to migrate abroad and marital status (p=0.021) as well as monthly family income (p=0.028).

Conclusions: The study found that a large majority of nursing students expressed a desire to migrate, with Australia being the most popular destination. The main reasons for this intention were a sense of responsibility towards their families and the prospect of higher salaries. Additionally, the study revealed that nursing students who were younger, unmarried, and from lower socioeconomic backgrounds were more likely to have intentions of migrating abroad.