An Examination of Expatriates' Awareness of Health Tourism in Turkey

Abstract

Aim: To determine the awareness levels of Turkish citizens (expatriates) living in Europe regarding health tourism in Turkey, and whether this awareness varies according to demographic variables. Methods: In this study, the survey model, one of the quantitative research methods, was employed. While the population of the research consists of Turkish citizens living in Europe (expatriates), the sample comprises 498 participants who fully completed the online survey form. The 17-item “Health Tourism Awareness Scale” developed by Yaba (2022) was used as the data collection tool. The analysis of the obtained data was performed using the SPSS 22.0 statistical software package. Results: In the context of educational status, it was determined that the awareness and positive perceptions of expatriates with basic and secondary education levels were higher than those of higher education graduates. Taking the region of residence into consideration, it was found that expatriates residing in Northern Europe have a higher general awareness and image perception regarding health tourism compared to those living in Western and Southern Europe. Additionally, it was understood that the awareness and perceptions of the participants whose hometowns in Turkey are in the Eastern and Southeastern Anatolia regions are higher, especially compared to those from the Marmara and Black Sea regions. Conclusion: When the sub-dimensions of the scale were examined, it was determined that the perception of "institutional competence" had the lowest average, while the "effects of health tourism" dimension had the highest average. As a result, it is emphasized that Turkey's potential in the field of health tourism is largely known by expatriates; however, in order to fully utilize this potential, there is a need for target-audience-oriented special promotion and communication strategies that will address institutional trust deficiencies and take demographic differences such as region and gender into account.

Keywords

• Health Tourism
• Awareness
• Expatriates

Supporting Institution

This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

Ethical Statement

Ethics committee approval was obtained for this study and all ethical principles were followed during the research process

Thanks

The authors would like to thank the participants who contributed to this study

Gurbetçilerin Türkiye'de Sağlık Turizmine İlişkin Farkındalığının İncelenmesi

Abstract

Amaç: Bu çalışma, Avrupa'da yaşayan Türk vatandaşlarının (gurbetçilerin) Türkiye'deki sağlık turizmine yönelik farkındalık düzeylerini belirlemek ve bu farkındalığın demografik değişkenlere göre farklılık gösterip göstermediğini incelemek amacıyla yapılmıştır. Yöntem: Araştırmada nicel araştırma yöntemlerinden tarama modeli kullanılmıştır. Araştırmanın örneklemini, Avrupa'da yaşayan ve çevrimiçi anketi eksiksiz dolduran 498 katılımcı oluşturmaktadır. Veri toplama aracı olarak Yaba (2022) tarafından geliştirilen 17 maddelik “Sağlık Turizmi Farkındalık Ölçeği” kullanılmıştır. Verilerin analizi SPSS 22.0 programı ile yapılmıştır. Bulgular: Eğitim durumu açısından, temel ve ortaöğretim düzeyindeki gurbetçilerin farkındalıklarının yükseköğretim mezunlarına göre daha yüksek olduğu belirlenmiştir. Bölgesel olarak, Kuzey Avrupa'da yaşayan gurbetçilerin sağlık turizmi farkındalığı ve imaj algısının Batı ve Güney Avrupa'dakilere göre daha yüksek olduğu görülmüştür. Ayrıca memleketi Doğu ve Güneydoğu Anadolu olan katılımcıların farkındalık düzeyleri, Marmara ve Karadeniz bölgesinden olanlara göre daha yüksek çıkmıştır. Sonuç: Ölçeğin alt boyutları incelendiğinde, "kurumsal yetkinlik" algısının en düşük, "sağlık turizminin etkileri" boyutunun ise en yüksek ortalamaya sahip olduğu belirlenmiştir. Sonuç olarak, Türkiye'nin sağlık turizmi potansiyelinin gurbetçilerce bilindiği ancak kurumsal güven eksikliğini giderecek ve bölgesel farklılıkları dikkate alacak özel tanıtım stratejilerine ihtiyaç duyulduğu görülmüştür.

Keywords

• Sağlık Turizmi
• Farkındalık
• Gurbetçi

Supporting Institution

Bu araştırma herhangi bir kurumdan özel bir hibe/destek almamıştır.

Ethical Statement

Bu çalışma için etik kurul onayı alınmıştır ve araştırma sürecinde tüm etik ilkelere uyulmuştur.

Thanks

Yazarlar, bu çalışmaya katkıda bulunan katılımcılara teşekkür eder.

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