Dear Colleagues, 

Contemporary global migration is not only a huge worldwide phenomenon, but a complex one. Despite some recent decreases in mobility born of the COVID-19 pandemic, global migrant numbers have continued to grow, with around 281 million people worldwide now living outside their country of birth (United Nations, 2021), including refugees and international students who are often-overlooked migrants. These migrants often arrive with, or develop, specific healthcare needs born of or made complex by their migration. Within this context of migration, the international migration of health workers is also a significant factor, particularly as the aging populations of high-income countries have seen them race to increase their health workforces, drawing on the international labor market, often to the detriment of health systems in the global south. While international regulatory frameworks have been developed to try and manage both these migration trends; reduce the risks and vulnerabilities of migrants, workers, and health systems; and uphold human rights and needs, challenges have persisted both on a macro (system) and a micro (personal) level. Additionally, these issues and trends in migration not only connect back to broader societal, political, and cultural factors and histories, but also present broader prospective challenges for sending and receiving countries and cultures.

This Special Issue invites original articles based on empirical research, conceptual theoretical or methodological papers, or critical reviews addressing the topic of either health worker migration or migrant health in any form. Papers may take an historical lens to examine the origins of these phenomena, explore contemporary health/healthcare and migration experiences, or offer theoretical contributions towards the future of migrant healthcare and/or health worker migration.

(*Contributions have to follow one of the three categories of papers (article, conceptual paper, or review) of the journal and address the topic of the Special Issue.)

Dr. Jennifer Creese
Dr. Georgia Spiliopoulos
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as conceptual papers are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Societies is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• migrant healthcare
• transcultural healthcare
• minority healthcare
• health worker mobility
• international health worker recruitment