Study of Radiology Safety Awareness among Hospital Staff in a Tertiary Care Rural Hospital of Middle Gujarat, India

Abstract

Background: Several challenges with radiation protection and safe practice in radiology departments needs to be addressed as very few studies are done in this aspect in our country. Especially with regard to General radiology safety and those necessary radiation protection and  hazards.

Objectives: To know the existence knowledge about radiology safety among Hospital staff. To create awareness about Radiology Safety among Hospital staff in tertiary care institution of Middle Gujarat, India.

Methodology: The Healthcare Professionals who are willing to participate will be included in this descriptive cross-sectional survey. Questionnaire to test knowledge of Hospital staff pertaining to radiology safety will be created. Google link will be created to share the questions to the Hospital staff. Participation will be voluntary. Minimum 100 response will be collected to analyse the data. Data will be analysed using response sheet in google form. The validity and reliability of the used questionnaires, which asked both specific and generic questions, had been established.

Results: The survey included 136 healthcare professionals in total. The majority of participants, who are often between the ages of 20 and 35, have excellent awareness of radiology Procedure as well as safety. Maximum were intern doctors (41.9%) followed by Junior resident doctor(27.9%).Majority Hospital staff  having adequate knowledge regarding indication/contraindication as well as allergic reaction of contrast media used in various radiological procedure.

Conclusion: Depending on the professional duties, amount of training, and even country of healthcare practitioners, awareness and knowledge of radiation threats may vary. The current findings showed that the present group had a high level of awareness regarding radiation risks generally. The results of the survey show that there needs to be more focus on providing all medical workers with extensive and systematic training in radiation protection.