Realist review and synthesis of retention studies for health workers in rural and remote areas

Policy-makers in every country are faced with the significant challenge of meeting the health needs of their populations, including the especially vulnerable communities in remote and rural areas. In order to ensure the equitable delivery of health services in these areas, skilled and motivated health workers need to be in the right place at the right time.

Following various international calls for action from global leaders, civil society and Member States of the World Health Organization (WHO), in February 2009 WHO launched a programme to increase access to health workers in remote and rural areas through improved retention. This programme was developed in order to support countries to address the
critical issues of retention and equitable distribution of health workers.