Does a code make a difference – assessing the English code of practice on international recruitment.
Peer reviewed article
The available data shows a considerable reduction in the inflow of health professionals, from the peak years up to 2002 (for nurses) and 2004 (for doctors). There are multiple causes for this decline, including a declining demand in the United Kingdom. In Ghana and Kenya it was found that an active recruitment was perceived to have reduced significantly from the United Kingdom, but it is not clear the extent to which the Code was influential in this, or whether other factors such as a lack of vacancies in the United Kingdom explains it.
"The potential to assess the effect of the Code in England is constrained by the limitations in available databases. This is a crucial lesson for those considering a global code: without a clear link between explicit objectives of a code, and relevant monitoring capacity as it is not possible to judge the actual impact of a code."