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Article History

Received: 28 May 2025

Accepted: 4 November 2025

First Online: 9 December 2025

Declarations

:

: The present study was conducted following the ethical approval of Middle East Technical University, Applied Ethics Research Center (Protocol No.: 337-ODTU-2021) in accordance with the Europeean Code of Conduct for Research Integrity. The study protocol was reviewed and approved by the Applied Ethics Research Center of Middle East Technical University (Protocol No.: 337-ODTU-2021). The research was conducted in accordance with the ethical standards of the institution and the European Code of Conduct for Research Integrity, ensuring the protection and voluntary participation of all human participants. Participation in this study was entirely voluntary and based on the informants’ own will. All participants were adults and provided informed consent after being fully briefed on the study’s purpose, procedures, confidentiality, and their right to withdraw at any stage without consequence. Verbal informed consent was obtained and audio-recorded prior to each online interview, while written consent was obtained for one face-to-face interview conducted in Ankara.

: Written informed consent was not obtained as all interviews, except one, were conducted online across seven geographical regions of the country. For the single face-to-face interview conducted in Ankara, written consent was obtained. All other participants received detailed information about the study’s purpose, procedures, confidentiality, and right to withdraw. Verbal informed consent to participate and to publish anonymized quotations was audio-recorded prior to each interview. Participant identities have been protected, and all quotations have been anonymized to prevent identification.

: The authors affirm that human research participants have provided informed consent for publication of the findings of the current study in academic journals.

: The authors declare no competing interests.