Background: Diagnostic radiology plays an important role in the diagnosis of several diseases and health conditions such as bone fractures. The medical staff and patients are more prone to the adverse impact of radiation as they are exposed to radiation in some stations. The medical staff should have enough knowledge about radiation safety measures. The aim of this study was to measure the awareness of healthcare providers about radiation safety and exposure.
Methods: This cross-sectional study included doctors, nurses, medical technicians, and support team personnel. The study was conducted in different healthcare institutions in Saudi Arabia during the year 2020 using an online questionnaire.
Results: The current study included 423 medical staff of different specialties; the most predominant specialty were interns (38.6%). A few percent of the participated personnel attended the radiology awareness course (37.6%). A high percentage of the participating medical staff had low awareness (68.3%). Each profession, specialty, resident area, attending the radiology course, experience, the number of contact with the imaging examined patients, and the protection measures reported were determinants for the level of awareness of the medical staff.
Conclusion: There was a low level of awareness among the medical staff regarding radiation safety and exposure; this can be attributed to the very low number of staff attending the awareness course of radiation.
Key words: Radiology awareness, safety, radiation exposure.
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