Evaluation of water footprints of medical specialization students at Bolu Abant İzzet Baysal University Faculty Of Medicine

Evaluation Of Water Footprints Of Medical Specialization Students At Bolu Abant İzzet Baysal University Faculty Of Medicine Background: Water footprint is an indicator of fresh water use that calculates the water use that we use both directly and indirectly. People consume water in daily life only as drinking water and for cooking, bathing, washing clothes, washing dishes etc. However, the part that creates our larger water footprint is the amount of hidden water in all the products we consume. In this study, it was aimed to determine the water footprints of Bolu Abant İzzet Baysal University Faculty of Medicine medical specialty students, their knowledge about the concept of water footprints, their thoughts, attitudes and behaviors about water consumption. Materials and Methods: The population of this cross-sectional study consists of 255 medical residency students studying at Bolu Abant İzzet Baysal University Faculty of Medicine. The questionnaire used in the research consists of eight parts. It includes the water footprint network questions created by Arjen Hoekstra and the questions prepared by the researchers in the light of the information in the literature. Descriptive statistics, chi-square test, Fisher's exact chi-square test, Spearman and Pearson correlation analysis, Mann Whitney U test, Kruskal Wallis analysis of variance were used in statistical analysis. Significance level was accepted as p<0.05. Necessary permissions and ethical approval were obtained for the research. Results: 47.5% of the participants are female, 52.5% are male, and 1.5% work in basic departments, 68.2% in internal departments and 30.3% in surgical departments. 22.2% of the participants have heard of the concept of water footprint and the average water footprint is 1,170,80 m3/year. Men have a higher water footprint than women. Married people have higher water footprint and food water footprint than singles. Those in the internal sciences have heard more about the concept of water footprint than those in the surgical sciences. Women have higher attitude scores than men. Those who heard about water footprint had higher knowledge score, attitude score, behavior score, thought score, water consumption behavior scale total score and sub-dimensions, water consumption and water awareness score, and water footprint was lower than those who did not.Conclusion: The concept of water footprint is a concept that has just begun to be heard. Even among physicians, who are one of the highest socio-cultural groups, the concept of water footprint is not well known. In line with this result, more studies should be carried out in the literature in order to hear and learn the concept of water footprint more, public spots on water footprint and consumption should be broadcast, thus creating awareness on people, calculating water footprints, and encouraging practices to reduce water footprints. Keywords: Water footprint, water consumption behaviors, water consumption attitudes, water consumption thoughts, medical residency students