Physician and nurse knowledge about patient radiation exposure in the emergency department

Abstract

Knowledge of the radiation exposure of radiology examinations was lower in nurses than physicians, but knowledge was poor in both groups. ED physicians and nurses should be educated about radiation exposure and cancer risks associated with various diagnostic radiological methods.

Doctors’ knowledge of the doses and risks of radiological investigations performed in the emergency department

“…Both of these factors could result in an increased number of unnecessary investigations. This observation is consistent with findings in the existing literature which indicated that ED doctors were more likely to order radiological investigations because they were unaware of the doses and risks 1,2,7. However, in our study, most doctors preferred to answer “I don’t know” instead of randomly guessing the correct doses, which may be a good sign that they realize their lack of knowledge and hence the necessity of receiving radiation protection training.…”

“…These percentages were significantly higher than those observed in other studies 1,2,5,7,10. Our finding could be the result of the lack of radiation protection training because 80% of the participants in our study had no training.…”

“…Children particularly have a higher lifetime risk of developing cancer, compared with adults, because their growing tissues are more susceptible to ionizing radiation, and they have a longer span of time to develop cancer 2,5,6. Therefore, it is essential for ED doctors who request radiological investigations to know radiation doses and the risks of these requested studies, and to be able to determine whether they are required 7. In addition, according to the international commission on radiological protection (ICRP) report, knowledge of the health effects of ionizing radiation is of utmost importance 8…”

“…In Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, insufficient data exist regarding the current level of knowledge among emergency physicians. However, several studies worldwide have demonstrated that doctors working in EDs have inadequate knowledge of the ionizing radiation risks associated with the radiological investigations they order 1-3,7. In Turkey, Günalp et al,1 conducted a study in the ED of the Ankara University School of Medicine in Ankara, Turkey, that included 300 interns, resident doctors, and radiographers.…”

What Patients Want to Know About CT Radiation Exposure Harm and What Doctors Actually Tell Them: A Gap in Patient-Doctor Communication

“…According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the major barriers in effective communication include insu cient knowledge of physicians, radiographers, and nuclear medicine technologists about radiation exposure, as well as underestimation of the radiation dose and its risks. 19 Al-Mallah et al conducted a cross-sectional study with 416 Bahraini patients attending the radiology department to evaluate the patients' awareness and knowledge about the associated risks of ionizing radiation. They compared the radiation-related knowledge between prescribed and self-presenting patients and reported no signi cant effect of age, gender, or education level on the awareness and knowledge about the risk of ionizing radiation.…”