📖 ABSTRACT/OVERVIEW
The accelerating emigration of Nigerian health workers to the United Kingdom, Canada, and other high-income countries represents a critical challenge to health system capacity, with South South states such as Edo disproportionately affected given their English-proficiency educational concentration. This study assesses the impact of health worker migration on service delivery indicators in secondary care hospitals in Edo State. An analytical cross-sectional design is applied to 18 secondary hospitals across Benin City, Ekpoma, and Auchi, using health management information system data extraction and structured surveys of 240 remaining health workers. Service delivery impact indicators include outpatient consultation volumes, surgical wait times, antenatal care attendance, emergency response times, and essential medicine stockout frequency, compared pre-migration peak (2018 to 2019) and post-migration acceleration (2022 to 2023). Key informant interviews with 15 hospital administrators provide management perspectives. SPSS is used for longitudinal comparison using paired t-tests, and qualitative data are analysed thematically. Reports from the Edo State Ministry of Health indicate that over 400 doctors and 1,200 nurses exited Edo State public hospitals between 2020 and 2023, creating critical staffing voids in surgical, obstetric, and emergency departments. The Human Resources for Health Systems Framework guides the analytical approach. Findings will support Edo State in designing retention incentive packages and task-shifting protocols. Keywords: health worker migration, brain drain, service delivery, secondary hospitals, Edo State.
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