JHSM
Journal of Health Sciences and Medicine

Journal of Health Sciences and Medicine (JHSM) is an unbiased, peer-reviewed, and open access international medical journal. The Journal publishes interesting clinical and experimental research conducted in all fields of medicine, interesting case reports, and clinical images, invited reviews, editorials, letters, comments, and related knowledge.

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Original Article
Determination of obesity prejudice levels of health professionals working in Gaziantep province
Abstract
Aims: The aim of this study was to measure the obesity prejudice and empathic tendency of health personnel working in public hospitals in Gaziantep.
Methods: 458 healthcare professionals working in Gaziantep province participated in the study. Data were collected using “GAMS-27 Obesity Bias Scale (OBS)” and “Empathic Tendency Scale (ETS)”.
Results: It was determined that 17.5% of the healthcare professionals were unprejudiced, 53.9% were prone to prejudice and 28.6% were prejudiced. However, 9.8% of them stated that their attitudes towards obese individuals were prejudiced and 90.2% were not prejudiced. Single people were found to be more prejudiced against obesity than married people. It was found that emergency department were more prejudiced against obese individuals and had lower empathic tendencies compared to other units. Obesity prejudice scores and empathic tendency scores of those who were satisfied with their physical appearance were significantly higher than those who were not satisfied. There was a weak positive relationship between obesity prejudice score and empathic tendency score, and a weak negative relationship between age and number of children. There was a weak positive correlation between empathic tendency score and obesity prejudice score, and a weak positive correlation between age and number of children and empathic tendency score. The mean score of the Empathic Tendency Scale (ETS) of the healthcare professionals was 69.42.
Conclusion: It was determined that healthcare professionals, especially those who considered themselves as thin, young and single, were prejudiced against obesity.

Keywords : Obesity, prejudice, healthcare professionals, hospital

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Article available in :
Volume 8, Issue 3, 2025
Page : 469-475
https://doi.org/10.32322/jhsm.1649282
Article Information
Received : 01 Mar 2025
Accepted : 09 May 2025
Published : 30 May 2025
Corresponding Author :

Özlem Kardaş Kin: Department of Operating Room Services, Vocational School of Health Services, Gaziantep Islamic Science and Technology University, Gaziantep, Turkiye

[email protected]
Citation : Özdemir S, Parlak Özer Z, Türkoğlu M, Kardaş Kin Ö. Determination of obesity prejudice levels of health professionals working in Gaziantep province. J Health Sci Med. 2025;8(3):469-475.

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