Horizon of Medical Education Development

Horizon of Medical Education Development

The Employment Situation of Environmental Health Engineering Graduates in Mashhad University of Medical Sciences(a Case Study)

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
BiBi Fatemeh Nabavi 1
Mohammad Javad Roshandel 1
Maryam Paydar 1, 2
Nayera Naimi 2
Behnam Barikbin 1, 2
1 Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Public Health, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.
2 Social Determinants of Health Research Center, Basic Sciences Research Institute, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.
10.22038/hmed.2025.88221.1526
Abstract
Introduction:Since the training of expert human resources, the creation of employment opportunities and the utilization of their expertise are among the main concerns of the higher education system, the current study was conducted to investigate the employment situation of BS and MS degree graduates in Environmental Health Engineering from Mashhad University of Medical Sciences.
Materials & Methods:In this cross-sectional study, all students who graduated during 2010-2021 were included. The data was collected through a researcher-developed questionnaire. Of the 297 questionnaires distributed, 105 were completed and returned. Collected data were analyzed with SPSS version 25 software.
Results: The findings showed that 77% of graduates were women and 23% were men. In terms of employment situation, 83% of males and 46% of females were employed. Moreover, 80% of the employees were working according to their field of study, and 68% of the employees were working in the public sector, 23% in the private sector, and 9% were self-employed. Chi-square test showed a significant relationship between gender and employment situation (p<0.05).
Conclusion: According to the findings of the research, it can be concluded that information about the employment situation and distribution of graduates of related fields of medical sciences can be very effective and helpful in estimating the capacity of accepting students and providing human resources needed by the public and private sectors.

Acknowledgments:We would like to express our sincere gratitude to the Vice-Chancellor for Research and Technology at Mashhad University of Medical Sciences for providing financial support, as well as to all the students and colleagues who assisted in conducting this research. One of the limitations of this study was the lack of access to all graduates.

Availability of data and materials: The datasets generated and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

Conflicts of interest:The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest in the present study.

Consent for publication:Written informed consent for publication was obtained from the relevant participants, where applicable.

Ethical approval and consent to participate:The authors adhered to research integrity principles and ethical standards, including the avoidance of plagiarism, duplicate publication, data falsification, and data fabrication. In addition, the study protocol was reviewed and approved by the Ethics Committee of Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Iran (Ethics Approval Code: IR.MUMS.FHMPM.REC.1401.074). The participants were informed that their participation in the study was voluntary. The participants’ data were analyzed and reported anonymously and confidentially. The study was conducted in accordance with the ethical principles outlined in the Declaration of Helsinki.

Funding:This article was derived from a research project (Project No. 4010243).

Authors’ Contributions:BiBi Fatemeh Nabavi: data analysis, and preparation of the original manuscript, editing and finalization of the original manuscript. Mohammad Javad Roshandel: data collection or processing. Maryam Paidar: data collection or processing. Nayera Naimi: data analysis, and preparation of the original manuscriptBehnam Barikbin: conceptualization, methodology, data analysis, and editing and finalization of the original manuscript.)Corresponding author)

Open Access Policy: This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0), which permits any non-commercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution, and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. To view a copy of this licence, visit.
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
Keywords
Job situation
Environmental health
Graduates
1.Rangian M, Peymani Zad H, Ismail Zadeh MR. Investigating the psychological effects of employment on physical education graduates of Islamic Azad University. Razi J Med Sci. 2021;28(7):92-9.
2.Numan SM. Usages of Technology to Deliver Health Education Programs to Enhance the Health Status of Bangladesh. In Proceedings of the 8th Pan-Commonwealth Forum on Open Learning (PCF8); Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Nov 27–30 2016.
3. Bahrami A, Akbari H, Malakoutikhah M. Evaluating the Employment Status of the Occupational Health and Safety Engineering Graduated at Kashan University of Medical Sciences. J.Health Safety Work. 2024;14(3):466-81.
https://doi.org/10.18502/jhsw.v14i3.18290
4.Malkutian M, Parvaresh AR. The employment status of environmental health graduates throughout the country during 81-1375. Iran. J. Educ. Med. Sci. 2003(10):65-71.
5.Sadrabady Z, Mohammadi M. The Employment Status of Knowledge and Information Science Alumni Graduated from University of Qom. Libr. Inf. 2020;23(4):130-54.
6.Bigdeli M, Karamati M, Bazargan A. Investigating the relationship between the field of study and the employment status of graduates of the Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences of Tehran University. QJREHE. 2012(65):111-31.
7.Dinmohammadi MR, Moussai Fard M, Keshavarzafshar M. Investigating the employment status of graduates of nursing, operating room, obstetrics and midwifery undergraduate courses of Zanjan Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery. J. Med. Educ. Dev. 2017;10(27):1-9.https://doi.org/10.29252/edcj.10.27.1
8.Esmaeili S, Azimi M, Babaei F, Rasekh H. Measuring the Education Status, Skills, and Jobs of the Ph. D postgraduates in Shahid Beheshti school of Pharmacy. Horizon of Medical Education Development. 2023;14(2):91-78.
9.Akhlaghi E, Alizadeh A, Ghavam A. Investigating the employment status of graduates of the Department of Linguistics of Ferdowsi University of Mashhad. LDK. 2019;11(2):141-60.
10.Hamzah N, Alireza K, Danesh Nia E. Investigating the problem of finding a job for university graduates and factors related to it (case study: Khwarazmi University graduates). Bi-Q. J. Soc. Issues Iran. 2021;12(2):259-79.
11.Izadi S, Salehi Imran E, Ghorbani A. Evaluation of the employment status of the graduates of the Applied Scientific University. QJHÉA. 2010;3(2):1-23.
12.Khodayari-Zarnaq R, Nosratnejad S, Mobasseri K, Kakemam E. Evaluation of capabilities of health care management bachelor of science graduates. Dep. of Health. 2020;12(1):44-54.https://doi.org/10.34172/doh.2021.06
13.Sanayi Nasab H, Delavari A, Ganjal A, Timurzadeh E, Sedaghat A, Mirhashemi S, et al. The employment status of graduates of the field of health-medical services management. Mil. Med. 2010;11(4):203-8.
14.Hamidzadzadeh Arbabi Y, Zandian H. A Study of Employment Status and Its Relationship with Attitudes and Satisfaction with the Place of Study: A Cross-sectional Study of Health School Graduates. J. Health. 2023;13(4):537-47.
https://doi.org/10.52547/j.health.13.4.537
15.Garahi MA, Abdoli M, Shokohiar S. Strategic planning in the health sector. In Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Industrial Management; 2017.
16.Askari R, Sheikhy-Chaman M, Entezarian Ardekani S, Miankoohi E. Career Destiny of Healthcare Management Field from the Perspective of Yazd Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences Graduates. Manage Strat Health Syst. 2021;5(4):295-305.https://doi.org/10.18502/mshsj.v5i4.5807
17.Dehghani R, Saberi HR, Takhtfiroozeh S, Jannat B. Environmental control methods against wild and domestic species of Muridae family: A review. J. Entomol. Res. 2018;42(4):549-56.https://doi.org/10.5958/0974-4576.2018.00093.2
18.Nasiri Formi E, Pourmohammad R, Salehinia R, Dindarloo MM. Attitudes of Operating Room Students of Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences in Iran Towards Their Field of Study and Future Career. QUMSJ. 2022;16(2):156-65.
19.Li H, Zheng F, Zhang J, Guo Z, Yang H, Ren C, et al. Using employment data from a medical university to examine the current occupation situation of master's graduates in public health and preventive medicine in China. Front. Public Health. 2020;8:508109.https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2020.508109PMid:33425824 PMCid:PMC7793996 
20.Jafari E, Kamali S, Keriman N, Fathi A. The employment status of nursing and midwifery graduates of Zanjan University of Medical Sciences. J Med Edu Dev. 2011;3(5):25-30.
21.Pentang JT, Perez DR, Cuanan KH, Recla MB, Dacanay RT, Bober RM, et al. Tracer study of teacher education graduates of Western Philippines University-Puerto Princesa Campus: Basis for curriculum review and revision. IJMABER. 2022;3(3):419-32.https://doi.org/10.11594/ijmaber.03.03.12
22.Boman J, Brečko B, Berzelak N. career tracking survey of doctorate holders: Project report. Strasbourg: European Science Foundation; 2017. Available from: https://www.esf.org.
23.Saidi Rezvani M, Mohammad Hosseinzadeh M, Baghgoli H. The career fate of graduates of the Faculty of Educational Sciences and Psychology of Ferdowsi University of Mashhad. EPS. 2011;11(2):57-86.
Horizon of Medical Education Development
Volume 17, Issue 4
Autumn 2026
Pages 51-59