Stay or leave? Explaining the Intention to Migrate to Germany among Physicians, Nurses, and Specialists Working in Tehran’s Public Hospitals

Migration of health human resources, particularly skilled professionals, is one of the major challenges facing health systems in countries of origin. Adopting an interdisciplinary approach, this study examines the migration of healthcare workers at the intersection of migration studies, human capital economics, health policy, and human resource management, integrating the economic, professional, organizational, and social factors influencing this phenomenon within a unified analytical framework. The study seeks to answer the main research question: What factors influence Iranian healthcare workers’ intention to migrate to Germany, and what are the relative strength and importance of these factors? The study employed a mixed-methods approach, combining qualitative and quantitative methods. The qualitative findings identified seven categories of factors: economic and financial factors; working conditions and the work environment; education, specialization, and career advancement; legal, organizational, and managerial factors; psychological and social factors; structural and infrastructural factors; and opportunities and attractions associated with migration to Germany. The results of the structural model showed that all seven factors had positive and statistically significant relationships with migration intention. Economic and financial factors and working conditions and the work environment demonstrated the strongest relationships, followed by opportunities and attractions associated with migration to Germany, legal, organizational, and managerial factors, structural and infrastructural factors, psychological and social factors, and education, specialization, and career advancement. The proposed model explained 72% of the variance in migration intention, while the model fit indices indicated an acceptable fit of the proposed model.