Psychological Determinants of Turkish Farmers’ Health and Safety Behaviors: An Application of the Extended Theory of Planned Behavior

Background: Structural and behavioral factors are among the causes of occupational accidents in agriculture. The SACURIMA Cost network developed a questionnaire to measure the determinants of farmers’ safety behavior based on the extended theory of planned behavior (TPB). Extended TPB adds subjective norms, subjective control, physical barriers and safety culture to TPB. Objective: The aim of this study is to test the psychometric properties of the “Farmers Safety Behaviors questionnaire” developed by the SACURIMA Cost network. Methods: A Turkish version of the questionnaire was applied to 305 farmers producing six different agricultural products in Turkey. The tool consists of 64 items measuring the determinants of four risk-related behaviors (fall prevention, machine handling, chemical-pesticide use, and animal handling) in a single extended TPB model. Results: The alpha values for the six dimensions ranged from 0.69 to 0.89. The confirmatory factor analysis results for all dimensions were at acceptable levels (CFI range = 0.93–0.99; RMSEA range = 0.03–0.09). Four path models were used to test the behaviors and their predictors, and the results were found to be predictive. The criterion and known groups’ validity analyses results were sufficient. Conclusion: The “Farmers Safety Behaviors Questionnaire” is a valid and reliable tool to measure the determinants of occupational safety behaviors in Turkish farmers

Push and Pull Factors of Why Medical Students Want to Leave Türkiye: A Countrywide Multicenter Study

Phenomenon: Physician immigration from other countries is increasing as developed countries continue to be desirable destinations for physicians; however, the determinants of Turkish physicians’ migration decisions are still unclear. Despite its wide coverage in the media and among physicians in Türkiye, and being the subject of much debate, there is insufficient data to justify this attention. With this study, we aimed to investigate the tendency of senior medical students in Türkiye to pursue their professional careers abroad and its related factors. Approach: This cross-sectional study involved 9881 senior medical students from 39 different medical schools in Türkiye in 2022. Besides participants’ migration decision, we evaluated the push and pull factors related to working, social environment and lifestyle in Türkiye and abroad, medical school education inadequacy, and personal insufficiencies, as well as the socioeconomic variables that may affect the decision to migrate abroad. The analyses were carried out with a participation rate of at least 50%. Findings: Of the medical students, 70.7% had emigration intentions. Approximately 60% of those want to stay abroad permanently, and 61.5% of them took initiatives such as learning a foreign language abroad (54.5%) and taking relevant exams (18.9%). Those who wanted to work in the field of Research & Development were 1.37 (95% CI: 1.22–1.54) times more likely to emigrate. The push factor that was related to emigration intention was the “working conditions in the country” (OR: 1.89, 95% CI: 1.56–2.28) whereas the “social environment/lifestyle abroad” was the mere pull factor for the tendency of emigration (OR: 1.73, 95% CI: 1.45–2.06). In addition, the quality problem in medical schools also had a significant impact on students’ decisions (OR: 2.20, 95% CI: 1.83–2.65). Insights: Although the percentage of those who want to emigrate “definitely” was at the same level as in the other developing countries, the tendency to migrate “permanently” was higher in Türkiye. Improving working conditions in the country and increasing the quality of medical faculties seem vital in preventing the migration of physicians