Assessment of Environmental Risk Perception Among Medical Students at a Medical Faculty in Ankara

Yıl 2025, Cilt: 34 Sayı: 2, 84 - 92, 23.05.2025

Ayşenur Beyazıt Üçgün , Özge Yavuz Sarı , Cavit Işık Yavuz

Öz

Objective: This descriptive study aimed to assess medical students’ risk perceptions regarding environmental risks through an online survey.
Methods: The study included 5th and 6th-grade students at a Medical Faculty in Ankara, Turkey. Participants were invited to take part in the study via email, and data were collected through an online questionnaire. The questionnaire included sociodemographic characteristics, career preferences, activities related to environmental health, risk perceptions regarding 20 environmental issues, opinions on environmental problems, and education.
Results: The top five perceived risk issues were climate change (85.2%), water pollution (78.4%), fossil fuels (74.7%), air pollution (74.7%), and chemical pollution in food (66.7%). Gender, perceived health, healthy behaviors, membership in an environmental NGO, and engagement in environmental activities were associated factors in environmental risk perception scores. More than half of the students found the topics related to the impacts of climate change in their medical education to be insufficient. Gender and membership of an environmental NGO were significant factors in multivariate analysis.
Conclusion: Developing curricula and extracurricular activities centered the environment may enhance physicians’ contributions to mitigating climate change and promoting sustainable healthcare practices.

Anahtar Kelimeler

risk, climate change, air pollution, sustainable development

Ankara’da Bir Tıp Fakültesinde Eğitim Gören Tıp Öğrencilerinde Çevresel Risk Algısının Değerlendirilmesi

Öz

Amaç: Bu tanımlayıcı çalışma, tıp öğrencilerinin çevresel risklere ilişkin risk algılarını çevrimiçi bir anket aracılığıyla değerlendirmeyi amaçlamıştır.
Yöntem: Çalışmaya Ankara'daki bir Tıp Fakültesinin Dönem V ve VI öğrencileri dahil edilmiştir. Katılımcılar e-posta yoluyla çalışmaya katılmaya davet edilmiş ve veriler çevrimiçi bir anket aracılığıyla toplanmıştır. Anket sosyodemografik özellikler, kariyer tercihleri, çevre sağlığı ile ilgili faaliyetler, 20 çevre sorununa ilişkin risk algıları, çevre sorunlarına ilişkin görüşler ve eğitimi içermektedir.
Bulgular: Algılanan ilk beş risk konusu iklim değişikliği (%85,2), su kirliliği (%78,4), fosil yakıtlar (%74,7), hava kirliliği (%74,7) ve gıdalardaki kimyasal kirliliktir (%66,7). Cinsiyet, algılanan sağlık, sağlıklı davranışlar, bir çevre STK’sına üyelik ve çevresel faaliyetlere katılım, çevresel risk algısı puanları ile ilişkili faktörlerdir. Öğrencilerin yarısından fazlası tıp eğitimlerinde iklim değişikliğinin etkileri ile ilgili konuları yetersiz bulmuştur. Çok değişkenli analizde cinsiyet ve bir çevre STK’sına üyelik önemli faktörler olarak bulunmuştur.
Sonuç: Çevreyi merkeze alan müfredat ve müfredat dışı faaliyetlerin geliştirilmesi, hekimlerin iklim değişikliğinin azaltılmasına ve sürdürülebilir sağlık uygulamalarının teşvik edilmesine katkılarını artırabilir.

Anahtar Kelimeler

risk, iklim değişikliği, hava kirliliği, sürdürülebilir gelişme

Etik Beyan

Ankete erişmeden önce tüm katılımcılardan elektronik ortamda bilgilendirilmiş ve onamları alınmıştır. Çalışmanın yürütülebilmesi için ilgili Tıp Fakültesi Dekanlığı'ndan izin alınmış ve araştırmanın yapılabilirliği ile ilgili uygunluk için onay Fakültenin Girişimsel Olmayan Klinik Araştırmalar Etik Kurulu'ndan (2109/24-34) alınmıştır.

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