Introduction: Following the outbreak and increasing numbers of coronavirus (COVID-19) cases in Nigeria, healthcare professionals are at the forefront in dealing with the pandemic. Radiographers are among the first line care givers. The study is aim to assess the level of preparedness of the Radiography sector in Nigeria.
Methods: A prospective cross-sectional survey was conducted using self-completion questionnaire. The questionnaire was generated on the 26th of March 2020, using online Google forms consisting of closed and open ended questions. Paired t-test statistic was used to compare the difference between "Before and After" changes in departmental protocols, using the SPSS statistical software, version 20. Statistically significant level was set at 0.05.
Results: A total of 107 radiographers from across the country responded to the questionnaire. Of these, 78(72%) were male and 27.1% female, giving a male to female ratio of 3:1. Following the outbreak of COVID-19, 86% of the respondents report that there have been changes in the departmental procedures. Sixty-seven percent said "No" to the availability of an appointment system, guidelines to reduce human to human contact(57%) and auditing for suspected COVID-19 cases (58.9%). Only 16(15%) of the respondents had received emergency training towards the fight against COVID-19. Of these, 6(37.5%) were trained in patient care, only 1(6.3%) on emergency response while 9 (56.3%) received training in limiting human to human transmission.
Conclusion: Findings in this study, suggest inadequate preparedness, with evidence of inadequate provision of equipment (Mobile X-ray and Ultrasound machines) for the diagnosis and management of cases in departments and isolation centers. In addition, emergency training on COVID-19 issues is low. The foregoing calls for adoption of urgent and immediate remedial measures.
Implications for practice: This study identify areas of practice that may detract from achieving optimum service delivery and safety during the pandemic.
A survey of the entrance surface doses in the routine radiography of children in eastern Nigeria has been carried out in three hospitals, using thermoluminescence detectors. Chest, abdomen, lumbar spine, skull and pelvis were covered in this study. Findings reveal that doses are higher than the recommended reference values elsewhere, as well as values reported for Sudan. The mean percentage difference in entrance doses for chest radiography for this study and an earlier one carried out for three hospitals in the west of Nigeria is about 44.7%. The high doses are traceable to a lack of standardization in procedure, resulting in use of low tube voltages and high currents for examination, as well as the status of facilities in the area. Recommendations are made for immediate corrective measures to lower the doses.
The UNSCEAR (2000) observed that there could be some exposure at work which would require regulatory control but is not really considered. This study was, therefore, set up to evaluate the effective dose in timber industries in Calabar, Nigeria to determine if the evaluated dose levels could lead to any radiological health effect in the workers, and also determine if the industries require regulatory control. The gamma ray exposure at four timber industries measured using an exposure meter were converted to effective dose and compared with the public and occupational values. The evaluated effective dose values in the timber industries were below public and occupational exposure limits and may not necessarily result in any radiological health hazard. Therefore, they may not require regulatory control.
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