Abstract

Background: All individuals in this world are exposed to ionizing radiation. There are various types of radiations including man-made and these types of radiations are used in imaging techniques. Various types of imaging examination are employed for disease diagnosis of patients in healthcare sector. The increased dose of these radiations on patients has acted as a risk factor for various diseases, including cancer. However, many of the physicians are not serious about the radiation dose delivered to the patient. Hence, this study aimed at assessing the awareness of health care professionals about radiation dose and risk.

Methodology: This study was conducted among health care professionals of different specialties using an online survey. The survey investigated demographics and knowledge of the participants.

Results: This study included 500 participants, 62.4% of them were males and 42.4% of them were of surgical specialty. The mean score of knowledge about all the participants was 7.9±0.7 (Mean±SD), and there were 29.8% who got a score ≥ 9 out of 18. Medical specialty was found to be significantly affected by the level of awareness (p=0.001).

Conclusion: This study found that there was a low level of awareness among health care professionals about the imaging radiation, hence formal training is recommended.

Key words: Radiation dose, radiation risks, HCP, awareness