A Survey on the Radiation Protection Status among Radiology Staff

• Published in: Iranian Journal of Medical Physics Vol. 15; no. 3; pp. 176 - 182
• Main Authors: Hamed Masoumi, Hadi Hasanzadeh, Majid Jadidi, Majid Mirmohammadkhani, Ahmad Bitarafan-Rajabi, Ali Abedelahi, Alireza Emadi, Mitra Bokharaeian, Fatemeh Shabani, Shima Moshfegh, Danial Seifi, Tahereh Khani, Mohamad Pursamimi, Athar Ehtiati, Mohammad Hosein Vali, Abbas Ziari, Sanaz Vali
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Mashhad University of Medical Sciences 01.07.2018
• Subjects: Knowledge Attitude; Medical Staff; Professional Practice; Radiation Protection
• ISSN: 2345-3672; 2345-3672
• DOI: 10.22038/ijmp.2018.24725.1249

Introduction: Radiation exposure during radiological examination is a health concern, of which radiology professionals should be cognizant. We sought to evaluate the radiation protection knowledge, attitudes, and practice (KAP) amongst radiology staff of hospitals across 10 provinces of Iran. Materials and Methods: For evaluating the level of radiation protection KAP, 553 radiology staff were enrolled. A 32-item questionnaire was designed to assess radiation protection KAP, the validity which was confirmed by members of the Medical Physics and Biostatistics departments. The questionnaire evaluated the respondents' knowledge, practice, and attitudes towards the basic principles of radiation protection, the necessity of using protective equipment, and their performance in the implementation of radiation protection recommendations. Results: We found no significant difference in the level of radiation protection KAP between male and female radiology staff and among those with different educational levels and ages (P>0.05). However, there was a significant association between radiation protection KAP and working experience, hospital size, and hospital type (P0.05). Conclusion: Our results showed that the level of radiation protection KAP among radiology staff is inadequate. This might be due to the lack of ongoing training courses concerning protection against ionizing radiation. Thus, sustained training of radiation protection principles can promote KAP among the staff of radiology departments, and in turn, reduce public dose from medical diagnostic modalities.