title: Factors affecting the work of physicians in rural areas of Turkey.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  An unbalanced geographical distribution of physicians leads to important differences in healthcare outcomes and difficulties in accessing healthcare services in rural areas. As in many other countries in the world, the geographical distribution of physicians in Turkey is unbalanced. Although there has been an increase in the number of physicians in the rural areas of Turkey since the introduction of the Health Transformation Program in 2003, health statistics indicate that significant differences still exist between regions in terms of the population-to-physician ratio. The aim of this study was to determine the factors that affect physicians' decisions about working in rural areas in Turkey.
  
  
  METHODS
  Overall, 1340 physicians working in urban areas constituted the sample group of this study. A survey method was used to collect the data. The questionnaire, which was used as a data collection tool, included nine questions to gather the opinions of physicians regarding working in rural areas. Variables such as occupational group and financial incentives affecting the physicians' willingness to work in rural areas were analyzed with descriptive statistics, and the answers given according to these variables were compared via t-test and one-way analysis of variance.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the sample, 59.9% of the participant physicians were men, and 36.9% were specialists. Opinions of the physicians about working in the rural areas differed significantly by occupational group, marital status and income. Medical residents and general practitioners were more willing to work in rural areas than other profession groups. In addition, single physicians were more open to working in rural areas than were married physicians. An increase in physicians' income reduced their willingness to work in rural areas. The developmental level of the region where they worked was found to be a very important variable affecting their preferences. Participants working in developed regions are reluctant to work in the rural areas.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Specific occupational groups, young and single physicians, and physicians working in underdeveloped regions were found to be the groups that can more easily be motivated to work in rural areas. To encourage physicians to work in rural areas, monetary and non-monetary incentives should be considered.
authors.affiliation: National Health Policies Board, Minisitry of Health, Ankara, Turkey. drsmho@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Salih
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mollahaliloðlu
authors.affiliation: Hacettepe University, Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, Department of Health Care Management, Ankara, Turkey. ougurlu@hacettepe.edu.tr.
authors.forename: Özgür
authors.initials: Ö
authors.lastname: Uðurluoðlu
authors.affiliation: Kýrýkkale University, Faculty of Health Sciences, Department of Health Care Management, Kýrýkkale, Turkey. oguz.isik@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Oðuz
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Iþýk
authors.affiliation: Health Services General Directorate, Ministry of Health, Ankara, Turkey. mkosdak@hm.saglik.gov.tr.
authors.forename: Mustafa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kosdak
authors.affiliation: School of Health, Aksaray University, Aksaray, Turkey. seraptaskaya@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Serap
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Taþkaya
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D005260:Female; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007348:Insurance, Health / Q000145:classification / Q000191:economics*; D008297:Male; D008507:Medically Underserved Area; D008875:Middle Aged; D058007:Physicians, Primary Care / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011365:Professional Practice Location / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D019035:Rural Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014421:Turkey; D019037:Urban Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000078329:Workforce; D016526:Workload / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
keywords: Administrator; Asia; Education; Public Health; Researcher; Workforce