Abstract

This study was designed and carried out to determine the factors considered by women regarding the protection of the environment. The study was conducted on a total of 600 women living in the vicinity of the Mamak Dr. Halil Ülgen Health Center affiliated with Mamak Health Group Directorate, Ankara, Turkey. The study was a descriptive study. Study data were collected via a questionnaire prepared by the researchers and administered in face-to-face interviews with the participants between 2-30 June, 2008. Chi-square analysis and SPSS 11.5 software were used to evaluate the obtained data. The factor which was most frequently considered by women in the protection of the environment was found to be “the use of water” (90.2% of the study participants), followed by “the use of electricity” (78.0%). The factor which was least frequently considered was found to be “avoidance of the use of environmentally harmful sprays” (4.3%). Examination of the factor “separate storage of waste” showed that the percentage of women who stored different kinds of waste separately was much lower than that of women who did not (81.5%). “Plastic waste” placed first among waste that was stored separately, followed by “paper waste”. “Lack of a system enabling separate storage of waste” was the most important reason offered by women for not storing waste separately.