Assessment of Radiographers’ Awareness about Radiation Protection Principles in Hospitals of Bandar Abbas, Iran

Introduction This study was conducted to evaluate the radiographers’ awareness of radiation protection principles in the radiology centers of the hospitals of Bandar Abbas, Iran. Materials and Methods This analytical cross-sectional study was conducted on 50 radiographers of three hospitals affiliated with Hormozgan University of Medical Sciences in 2015. The data were collected using a two-part questionnaire. The first part was related to the demographic information of the radiographers(i.e. age, gender, work experience, workplace, and passing related training courses). The second part consisted of questions related to the radiographers’ awareness in three fields of radiology physics, radiation protection, and hazards of radiation. Results According to the results of the present study, the mean total scores of the radiographers’ awareness about the radiology physics, radiation protection, and hazards of radiation was 18.41±1.14 out of 22. However, the radiographers’ awareness of the three investigated fields had no statistically significant relationships with the work experience (P=0.244) and gender (P=0.386). However, there was a significant relationship between the radiographers’ awareness about the radiation protection and their education level (P=0.034). Moreover, a significant association was found between the radiographers’ awareness and their workplace (P=0.009). Additionally, the participation in the radiation training courses was significantly correlated with the radiographers’ awareness regarding the radiation hazards (P=0.022). Conclusion According to the findings of the present study, the awareness level of the radiographers about the radiation protection principles was relatively good. However, it seems that the education level of the staff should be enhanced through holding regular short-term radiation training courses. 

Keywords:

Awareness , Radiation Protection , Radiation hazards , radiographers , Radiology