This research received a grant from Sumitomo Foundation, Japan. The funder had no involvement in research design, data collection, analysis and publication process.
Conflicts of interest
The authors declare no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship and/or publication of this article.
Abstract
Aim
To illuminate the lived experiences of Indonesian nurses who previously worked as caregivers in Japanese residential care facilities, by exploring the journey of becoming returnees.
Background
The creation of bilateral agreements between Indonesia and Japan has facilitated the movement of Indonesian nurses to work as caregivers in Japan since 2008. While this decision raised concerns with regard to the degradation of nursing skills, little is known about this issue from the perspective of nurse returnees and how the experience affects their life.
Method
A hermeneutic phenomenological method was employed for this study. A purposive sample of 15 Indonesian nurse returnees participated in this study. Semi-structured interviews were conducted in four of Indonesia’s provinces between August and October 2015. Data were analysed thematically, supported by QSR NVIVO 10 software.
Findings
Four key themes emerged from the data analysis: (i) returning home; (ii) going back to zero; (iii) walking through a difficult journey; and (iv) overcoming barriers. These findings described the lived experiences of nurse returnees when they got back to the country of origin.
Conclusion
Indonesian nurse returnees experienced deskilling and struggled to re-enter the nursing profession or to find other non-nursing jobs. The significant impact of this migration on individual nurses with regard to maximizing the benefits of return migration deserves further investigation.
Implication for nursing and health policy
The Indonesian government, jointly with other stakeholders, should develop a brain gain strategy to align returnees’ expertise with the needs of the national labour market. The public-private partnership should be strengthened to utilize returnees in healthcare services.
National Cheng Kung University, Taiwan, ROC; Airlangga University, Indonesia.
2
Global Health Policy Institute, USA; University of California, San Diego, USA.
3
National Cheng Kung University, Taiwan, ROC.
Abstract
Indonesia is recognized as a nurse exporting country, with policies that encourage nursing professionals to emigrate abroad. This includes the country’s adoption of international principles attempting to protect Indonesian nurses that emigrate as well as the country’s own participation in a bilateral trade and investment agreement, known as the Indonesia-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement that facilitates Indonesian nurse migration to Japan. Despite the potential trade and employment benefits from sending nurses abroad under the Indonesia-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement, Indonesia itself is suffering from a crisis in nursing capacity and ensuring adequate healthcare access for its own populations. This represents a distinct challenge for Indonesia in appropriately balancing domestic health workforce needs, employment, and training opportunities for Indonesian nurses, and the need to acknowledge the rights of nurses to freely migrate abroad. Hence, this article reviews the complex operational and ethical issues associated with Indonesian health worker migration under the Indonesia-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement. It also introduces a policy proposal to improve performance of the Indonesia-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement and better align it with international principles focused on equitable health worker migration.
Kemitraan Ekonomi Indonesia Jepang atau dikenal dengan istilah Indonesia Japan Economic Partnership Agreement merupakan kerjasama yang diharapkan menguntungkan kedua belah pihak. Namun sejalan dengan perkembangannya, banyak isu kompleks yang terkait dengan migrasi tenaga kesehatan Indonesia ke Jepang. Apa saja tantangan serta masalah etik yang terkait? Bagaimana peran stakeholder domestik dalam penempatan perawat Indonesia ke Jepang? Opsi kebijakan apa sajakah yang bisa diambil untuk mendukung keberlanjutan program ini? Silahkan disimak di artikel dibawah ini:
IJEPA: Gray Area for Health Policy and International Nurse Migration
Published at Nursing Ethics Journal, Impact Factor:1.247 | Ranking:Nursing (SSCI) 32 out of 108 | Nursing (SCI) 36 out of 110 , SCOPUS indexed.
Indonesia is recognized as a nurse exporting country, with policies that encourage nursing professionals to emigrate abroad. This includes the country’s adoption of international principles attempting to protect Indonesian nurses that emigrate as well as the country’s own participation in a bilateral trade and investment agreement, known as the Indonesia–Japan Economic Partnership Agreement that facilitates Indonesian nurse migration to Japan. Despite the potential trade and employment benefits from sending nurses abroad under the Indonesia–Japan Economic Partnership Agreement, Indonesia itself is suffering from a crisis in nursing capacity and ensuring adequate healthcare access for its own populations. This represents a distinct challenge for Indonesia in appropriately balancing domestic health workforce needs, employment, and training opportunities for Indonesian nurses, and the need to acknowledge the rights of nurses to freely migrate abroad. Hence, this article reviews the complex operational and ethical issues associated with Indonesian health worker migration under the Indonesia–Japan Economic Partnership Agreement. It also introduces a policy proposal to improve performance of the Indonesia–Japan Economic Partnership Agreement and better align it with international principles focused on equitable health worker migration.