The impact of occupational health and safety training on students' knowledge level and safety culture: a quasi-experimental study.

چکیده اصلی

BACKGROUND: This study investigates university students' occupational health and safety (OHS) knowledge levels and their perceptions of safety culture, with a particular emphasis on evaluating the effectiveness of structured OHS training. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The research was conducted with 1291 students at Artvin Çoruh University Artvin, Türkiye, using a quasi-experimental pre-test/post-test design. Data were analyzed through descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, independent samples Student's t-tests, and analysis of variance. RESULTS: Students demonstrated high safety culture perceptions (mean±standard deviation [M±SD] 4.38±0.67 on a 5-point Likert scale) but moderate OHS knowledge levels (M±SD 2.38±0.48 on a 3-point Likert scale). A positive and statistically significant correlation was found between OHS knowledge and safety culture (r = 0.330, p < 0.01). Following the training, knowledge scores increased significantly from pre-training (M±SD 24.15±5.06 pts) to post-training (M±SD 29.22±4.20 pts) with a large effect size (Cohen's d = 1.07, p < 0.001). Female students reported significantly higher safety culture perceptions than male students (p < 0.001). Engineering students achieved the highest safety culture scores, significantly surpassing several health-related programs (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Occupational health and safety training significantly enhances students' knowledge levels, demonstrating a strong intervention effect. Safety culture perceptions are positively associated with knowledge and vary according to gender and academic discipline. Med Pr Work Health Saf. 2026;77(3):185-193.

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