Beliefs, Facilitating Factors, and Barriers in Using Personal Dosimeter among Medical Radiation Workers in a Middle-Income Asian Setting

Abstract

This qualitative study explores the medical radiation workers’ (MRWs) beliefs with the support of the theory of planned behaviour’s constructs regarding the use of personal dosimeters in order to identify the facilitating factors and barriers to practising good personal dose monitoring. The exploration was conducted through semi-structured face-to-face interviews with 63 MRWs from the public, private, and university hospitals. Belief statements from the informants were organized under the behavioural, normative, and control belief, as guided by the theory. A thematic analysis found that a majority of informants acknowledged the benefits of using dosimeters. However, several factors influenced the actual usage. The informants were hesitant to use the dosimeter as the loss of the device involved an expensive penalty. They also mentioned that delayed dosimeter supplies due to late budget approval in the hospitals and some other reasons had got them disconnected from the monitoring system. The workers’ attitudes and social norms highly induced their dosimeter usage as well; some perceived themselves to be at low risk for high exposure to radiation, and forgetfulness was also mentioned as a reason for lack of adherence. Device physical factor influenced low dosimeter use too. This study highlighted some unique findings in Asian settings. A better understanding of the underlying reasons for the lack of dosimeter use will be useful in developing strategies to increase good practices in personal radiation monitoring.

The Development and Validation of a Psychometric Tool to Assess Behavioral Factors Impacting Personal Dosimeter Use among Medical Radiation Workers

“…Past studies revealed that MRWs lost motivation to use or change dosimeters regularly because they have lost the purpose of using the device due to the unknown status of their exposures (Botwe et al 2015; Mohd Ridzwan et al 2021a). However, a past study recorded that the data were kept and only communicated to those with unusual exposures (Mohd Ridzwan et al 2021b), probably to save resources and protect the confidentiality of the data.…”

“…This psychometric tool can also measure the factors that are barriers to consistent dosimeter use, such as the workers’ tasks. For instance, some respondents only worked under low radiation exposure and perceived using dosimeters as being pointless (Mohd Ridzwan et al 2021a). Meanwhile, those who constantly worked with higher radiation procedures avoided using the device so that they were not forced to take radiation leave or be denied work (Botwe et al 2015; Rose et al 2018).…”

“…The information derived from qualitative thematic data synthesis conducted in 2018 (Mohd Ridzwan et al 2021a) and a study tool in the US Radiologic Technologists cohort (Little et al 2014; Van Dyke et al 2016) were used to generate the preliminary psychometric items.…”

“…Studies on the use of personal dosimeters among medical radiation workers (MRWs) had indicated that the adherence was suboptimal (Söylemez et al 2012; Flôr and Gelbcke 2013; Friedman et al 2013; Botwe et al 2015; Alavi et al 2017; McCulloch et al 2018; Rose et al 2018; Sethole et al 2019; Salah Eldeen and Farouk 2020; Fiagbedzi et al 2022; Mohd Ridzwan et al 2023). The main reason for nonuse of dosimeters is forgetfulness, attributed either to working in multiple locations or being too busy (Flôr and Gebcke 2013; Friedman et al 2013; McCulloch et al 2018; Rose et al 2018; Mohd Ridzwan et al 2023). Other reasons include lack of access, delay in supply, and negligence (Söylemez et al 2012; Botwe et al 2015; Mohd Ridzwan et al 2023).…”

“…The main reason for nonuse of dosimeters is forgetfulness, attributed either to working in multiple locations or being too busy (Flôr and Gebcke 2013; Friedman et al 2013; McCulloch et al 2018; Rose et al 2018; Mohd Ridzwan et al 2023). Other reasons include lack of access, delay in supply, and negligence (Söylemez et al 2012; Botwe et al 2015; Mohd Ridzwan et al 2023).…”