A Study of Knowledge & Awareness of Medical Doctors Towards Radiation Exposure Risk At Tikur Anbessa Specialized Referral And Teaching Hospital, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Abstract

Increasing concern has recently been expressed in the literature that the referring doctor's knowledge of radiation doses incurred during radiological procedures is inadequate. Such information may be particularly relevant when the expansion of imaging technology is considered. Hence the objective of this work is to assess the awareness of physicians about radiation dose and hazards of radiation. The study was performed among medical doctors at Tikur Anbessa Specialized Referral Teaching Hospital, the largest medical school in the country. A 135 self administered questionnaire was circulated randomly from a range of specialties; out of which 114 questionnaires were completed and used in the study giving a response rate of 85%. Participants were asked about the radiation dose from a chest radiograph, the annual dose from background radiation, and cancer risk from several common radiological procedures. A mean score of 7.1 out of 19 was achieved. 12 doctors had received formal training about ionizing radiation, and these participants scored higher than those with no previous training in this area. Our survey suggested that clinicians' awareness of radiation doses imparted during common radiological procedures, and the consequent risk to the individual patient is poor. A major curriculum revision of both undergraduate and graduate medical education regarding awareness on radiation is mandatory to improve this deficiency.

The Knowledge of Radiation and the Attitude Towards Radio-Protection among Urology Residents in India

“…To find what is actually done, how much is gained by students and how much they apply is really a concern. Few studies conducted in various countries have used similar questionnaires to find out the knowledge and attitudes of medical personnel and have revealed disappointing results [10][11][12][13]. The studies call for urgent measures to impart education about radiation safety and implementation of adequate measures to decrease radiation exposure [14,15].…”

An assessment of knowledge and perception of postgraduate students and interns toward radiation protection protocols: A questionnaire-based study in dental colleges

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Radiation awareness among physicians about the hazards of radiological examinations on the health of workers and their patients in Saudi Arabia

“…The aim of the present work was to evaluate the knowledge and awareness of physicians about the hazards of radiological examinations on the health of workers and their patients in Saudi Arabia. Several studies estimate the knowledge and awareness of physicians about the hazards of radiological examinations in Asia, Africa and Europe (Abdellah, Attia, Fouad, & Abdel-Halim, 2015;Alhasan, 2016;Hamarsheh & Ahmead, 2012;Illian, 2011;Madrigano, Abrão, Puchnick, & Regacini, 2014;Sin et al, 2013;Sundaran, 2017;Zewdneh, Dellie, & Ayele, 2012). Some of these studies showed a lack of knowledge and awareness in radiation protection such as African physicians (Abdellah et al, 2015).…”