Factors Affecting Brain Drain and a Solution to Reduce it in Iran's Health System: A Qualitative Study

Brain drain is an issue of concern in developing countries. Many factors are involved in this issue, and their identification can be a good guide for decision-makers at different management levels. Therefore, the present study was carried out to identify the factors affecting brain drain and solutions to reduce it in Iran's health system.

The data for this qualitative study was collected in 2023 through 15 semi-structured interviews with Iranian health experts and emigrant elites. Interviews were collected both face-to-face and virtually (on Skype and Google Meet) and analyzed using the thematic content analysis method.

Data analysis of the factors affecting brain drain in Iran's health system yielded seven main categories and 45 subcategories. The main categories were "individual factors," "economic factors," "social and cultural factors," "organizational and administrative factors," "political factors," "attraction factors for destination countries," and "attraction factors of destination countries for elites." Also, the solutions were divided into four categories of "economic," "social," "organizational and scientific," and "political" factors and 19 subcategories.

Due to the increase in brain drain in recent years, it is necessary to make a serious decision in dealing with this issue. Solutions such as creating stable economic conditions, creating an atmosphere of hope, increasing respect and dignity for elite students by politicians, using the elites in macro-decisions, and creating the job rank for honorary professors can lead to reducing brain drain and decreasing the costs of the health system.