Why move abroad? Factors influencing migration intentions of final year students of health-related disciplines in Nigeria

BACKGROUND: Limited human resource for health may impede the attainment of health-related sustainable development goals in low-income countries. This study aims to identify migration factors among final-year students of health-related disciplines at a Nigerian university, reflecting trends in Nigeria and sub-Saharan African countries. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted using a semi-structured, self-administered questionnaire to collect data from 402 final-year students of Medicine/Dentistry, Nursing, Pharmacy and Occupational therapy Physiotherapy at Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife. Univariate, bivariate and multivariate data analysis were conducted and a p-value < 0.05 was taken as statistically significant. RESULTS: The mean age of the respondents was 24.3 ± 2.3 years. Most (326; 81.1%) respondents had intentions to migrate and majority (216; 53.7%) of respondents had an unfavourable attitude towards practising in Nigeria. Students of Nursing constitute the highest proportion (68; 91.9%) of those willing to migrate (p = 0.009). The common preferred destinations for those who intend to migrate were the United Kingdom (84; 25.8%), Canada (81; 24.8%), and the United States of America (68; 20.9%). Respondents who had favourable attitude towards practicing abroad (AO.R: 2.9; 95% C.I 1.6–5.2; p = 0.001) were three times more likely to have migration intentions compared with those who had an unfavourable attitude towards practicing abroad, while the odds for those who had favourable attitude towards practicing in Nigeria (AO.R: 0.4; 95% C.I 0.2–0.7; p = 0.002) was two times less than those who had an unfavourable attitude towards practice in Nigeria. Respondents who desire specialist training (AO.R: 3.0; 95% C.I 1.7–5.4; p < 0.001) were three times more likely to have intention to migrate abroad when compared to those who were undecided or had no desire to pursue specialist training. CONCLUSION: Most respondents had the intention to migrate abroad after graduation and this could be attributed to the desire for specialist training and their attitude towards practising in Nigeria. Interventions aimed at improving specialist training in Nigeria and incentivizing health care practice may reduce migration trends among Nigeria’s health professionals in training. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12909-023-04683-6.