Assessment of knowledge, attitude and practice of radiation protection among operating room staffs in Zanjan province

Background and purpose:Nowadays medical imaging has a special place in the diagnosis and even treatment of various diseases. One of the basic uses of X-rays is in the operating room (OR). C-arm fluoroscopy is a main component during surgery that helps to guide surgeons and perform minimally invasive surgeries. So knowing the harmful effects of X-ray and ways of protection of it can prevent irreparable risks for patients and OR Staffs. The current study aimed at evaluating KAP level of radiation protection among personnel in the OR.Methods:In this cross-sectional study, the questionnaire designed by Rakhshani and colleagues was distributed among all operating room personnel of ۶ teaching hospitals of Zanjan University of Medical Sciences in ۲۰۲۲-۲۰۲۳. This questionnaire consisted of two parts. The first part includes demographic information such as age, gender, etc. and the second part consists of ۳۲ questions to evaluate the level of knowledge, attitude and practice of radiation protection among participants. The data was analyzed by using descriptive statistics (mean, standard deviation and frequency) and analytical statistics (Pearson's and Spearman's correlation coefficient test, Students independent t-test, ANOVA and etc.) whit SPSS version ۲۶ software (sig:P<۰.۰۵).Results:Among the qualified OR staffs of Zanjan province, ۱۷۲ people completed the questionnaires, of which ۷۹ (۴۵.۹%) were men and ۹۳ (۵۴.۱%) were women. According to the analyses, they were have good level in knowledge (n=۶۹, ۴۰.۱%) and attitude (n=۱۵۰, ۸۷.۲%).besides, participants have poorly practice (n=۸۱, ۴۷.۱%) and clinical competence (n=۷۰, ۴۰.۷%). Based on the results, there was a significant relationship between gender and knowledge (p=۰.۰۲) so that men had more knowledge than women. There was a significant relationship between knowledge with age (p=۰.۰۰۵) and with the level of education (p=۰.۰۳). There was also a significant relationship between attitude and age (p=۰.۰۰۲), level of education (p=۰.۰۲۱) and work experience (p=۰.۰۲). There is no significant relationship between practice and gender (p=۰.۰۹), level of education (p=۰.۳۵) and work experience (p=۰.۴۵). But on the other hand, there is a significant relationship between practice and age (p=۰.۰۴۶).Conclusion: Based on the results of this study, the knowledge and attitude of the OR staffs regarding radiation protection were evaluated as favorable, but the practice and clinical competence of the staffs regarding radiation protection were evaluated as unfavorable. It is recommended to hold training courses on the principles of radiation protection and to more monitor the performance of staffs.

Keywords:

Knowledge , Attitude , Practice , Radiation protection , Operating room