Knowledge and attitude of radiation safety and the use of protective measures among healthcare workers in a tertiary center

A.M. Alkhayal, A.S. Alothman, A.H. Alathel, A. AlMaslamani, O.N. Alfehaid, I.A. Alhassan, K.A. Alrabeeah, Y.G. Ghazwani

King Abdullah International Medical Research Center, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. ali.alothman76@gmail.com

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• Oncology
• Public Health

OBJECTIVE: World Health Organization (WHO) reports that medical applications used in different fields account for the majority of the artificial source of radiation. Due to the high exposure to ionizing radiation, healthcare workers (HCWs) and patients are considered at high risk of suffering its harmful effects.

SUBJECTS AND METHODS: A questionnaire survey was used to conduct a cross-sectional study that aimed to estimate the radiation safety, knowledge, attitude and the use of protective measures among HCWs in a tertiary hospital.

RESULTS: A total of 174 participants were included in our study, the majority of them were physicians (100, 57.1%), nurses staff were 67 (38.3%), and the technicians were 8 (4.6%). Across the entire spectrum, the low level of attitude toward radiation safety was 96 (54.8%), majority of them were physicians 69 (71.9%). On the other hand, the high level of attitude toward radiation safety was 79 (45.2%), majority were nurses staff 42 (53.2%). Regarding the knowledge of radiation safety, out of all low-level attitudes, 53 (55.2%) had knowledge about the optimal thickness of the lead shield, 80 (83.3%) had knowledge about leukemia and lymphoma, 56 (58.3%) had knowledge regarding cataract, and 70 (72.9%) had knowledge regarding birth defect.

CONCLUSIONS: Our study found that the majority of our physicians had a low attitude regarding radiation safety, although the majority of them were found to have knowledge about it. A recommendation for solid curricular application of radiation safety should be implemented in medical schools, postgraduate with continuous training, and practical courses which may help to improve the level of attitude and knowledge among HCWs regarding radiation safety.

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