Assessment of compliance to radiation safety and protection at the radiology department

Background: Several potential challenges with radiation protection (RP) and safety culture in radiology departments need to be addressed. This study assesses radiographers’ adherence to radiation protection practices in radiology departments. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among radiographers; 210 self-administrated questionnaires were sent to the participants. An analysis was conducted to determine participants’ adherence to radiation protection practices, including the implementation of personal protection, patient and environmental protection. The educational level of the radiographers, their years of experience and sociodemographic characteristics were assessed and compared. Results: The percentage of radiographers’ adherence to practices related to environmental protection, patient protection and self-protection were 75.1%, 60.4% and 45.7%, respectively. The overall adherence to radiation protection practices score was 75.2%±18.5, where 57.4% of the radiographers exhibited good adherence, 26.9% exhibited moderate adherence and 15.7% had poor adherence. The adherence score was significantly higher among elder radiographers (P<0.0001) and more experienced ones (P=0.001). However, no significant difference in adherence score was found in relation to the radiographers’ educational qualifications. Conclusion: Forty percent of the radiographers’ practices proved relatively unsatisfactory in implementing radiation protection. Thus, proactive steps and corrective actions are necessary to improve radiographers’ knowledge of international standards of proper radiation protection practices.