Assessing the Impact of the National Policy on Health Workforce Migration on Doctor Retention Rates in Public Hospitals in Edo State, Nigeria

The migration of medical doctors from Nigeria’s public health system threatens healthcare delivery, equity, and workforce sustainability. In response, the Federal Government introduced the National Policy on Health Workforce Migration (NPHWM) in 2024 to regulate emigration and improve domestic retention. This study evaluated the policy’s impact on doctor retention in public hospitals in Edo State by examining policy awareness and perception, perceived effectiveness of interventions, and retention outcomes. Using a quasi–mixed-methods design, data were collected from 112 medical and dental practitioners across tertiary and secondary public hospitals, alongside retrospective retention records from 2022 to 2025. Despite the policy’s introduction, findings revealed persistently high migration intentions, largely attributable to low policy visibility and weak institutional domestication. While slight post-policy retention improvements were noted in the tertiary hospital, secondary facilities continued to experience instability. Work–life balance and safety were strongly associated with retention intentions, whereas policy awareness and perception, along with international collaboration and ethical recruitment, were the only significant predictors of actual retention. Overall, the NPHWM is conceptually sound but remains unevenly implemented and socially invisible; enhanced communication, institutional integration, and context-sensitive execution are required to curb doctor migration and stabilise Nigeria’s public health workforce.