Awareness of Radiation Protection Measures among Radiologists and Non-Radiologists
Journal Title: The Egyptian Journal of Hospital Medicine - Year 2018, Vol 70, Issue 3
Abstract
<strong>Background: </strong>More than 3,600 million radiology examinations are carried out every year worldwide. In spite of the great benefits of diagnostic and therapeutic radiations, they may result in some hazards if used inappropriately. However, these hazards can be prevented through raising the awareness of health care professionals about these hazards and the protective measures to be considered. Several guidelines and regulations were issued for this purpose including; the POPUMET regulations and ALARA principle and the WHO global initiative on radiation safety in health care settings. <strong>Aim: </strong>The current study aimed at assessing the level of radiation protection awareness among clinicians and radiologists in addition to exploring if radiation protection courses have a beneficial effect on the awareness level or not. <strong>Methods: </strong>This was a cross-sectional study where the level of radiation protection awareness was assessed using an anonymous questionnaire. <strong>Results: </strong>A total of 101 (100%) participants responded to the questionnaire. Of which; 49 (48.5%) were residents, 30 (29.7%) were specialists and 22 participants (21.8%) were consultants. Slightly less than half of the participants (48, 47.5%) have attended a radiation protection course before. The majority of participants who attended a course (68.8%) have heard about the POPUMET regulations (p<0.001). Participants were asked about the procedures with risk equivalent to 0.25 mSy of radiation estimated dose equivalent. And it was found that course attendance improved the knowledge about the risk of 3 (out of 4) procedures (p<0.05). On the other hand, course attendance didn’t improve the knowledge about the approximated radiation doses of some procedures (p>0.05) or the degree of radio-sensitivity of different organs (p>0.05). The majority of the participants (96%) were not aware that there is no annual limit of radiation dose for patients. Around half of the participants (56.4%) were aware about what the word “ALARA” stands for. <strong>Conclusion: </strong>Results of the current study suggested that the level of radiation protection awareness among health care professionals is not sufficient to ensure patients and workers’ safety. And accordingly, we suggested that more efficient awareness programs for health care professionals are conducted on regular basis with regular monitoring of awareness level to explore areas for improvement.
Authors and Affiliations
Eman Helal
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP583485
- DOI 10.12816/0043471
- Views 115
- Downloads 0
Convulsions in Children, Arar, Northern Saudi Arabia
<strong>Background:</strong> Febrile seizure is one of the most common types of seizure in children aged between 5 months and 5 years and accounts for 30% of all childhood seizures, but it is generally considered benign....
Overview of Risk factors of diabetic macular edema treatment prognosis
<strong>Background:</strong> Diabetes mellitus (DM) is just one of the world's fastest growing chronic conditions as well as a leading cause of acquired vision loss, diabetic macular edema (DME) is a disease linked to di...
Uses of Ultrasound and Doppler in Assessment of Endometrial Receptivity in Patients of Unexplained Infertility
Background: although the majority of infertile couples was found to have an identifiable male or female factor, 15–30% was categorized as having ‘‘unexplained infertility’’. The endometrium is considered to be a key dete...
Prevalence of Iron Deficiency anemia in Obese Children in Taif Area - Saudi Arabia
Background: The growing global health problem is obesity which has increased dramatically in recent years. The prevalence of obesity continues to rise in developed and developing countries, Poor iron status are affecting...
Radiological Assessment of Surgical Treatment of Distal Radius Fractures among Patients at an Academic Center in Jeddah
<strong>Background: </strong>Distal radius fractures (DRFs) are mainly treated by surgery; however, there is no strong evidence to establish the superiority of one modality over another. <strong>Aim: </strong>To determin...