Abstract
AimIn light of Saudi Arabia's newly introduced national diagnostic reference levels (DRLs) and their importance as an optimisation tool in computed tomography (CT) procedures, the present study aims to evaluate radiographers' knowledge about radiation protection and DRLs. MethodThis questionnaire-based quantitative cross-sectional study was conducted among CT radiographers in Saudi Arabia between July and December 2021. The study was approved by the institutional review board at Umm-Al-Qura. The questionnaire was divided into three sections: demographic information, general radiation protection knowledge and DRL knowledge. Frequencies, means, contingency tables and correlations among the different types of collected information were investigated using SPSS software version 16.0. ResultsIn terms of radiation protection knowledge with respect to CT, more than 80% of participants exhibited awareness of the dose display on the CT machine's console, selected the correct dosimetric unit's expressed CT dose. Unexpectedly, 60.6% of participants failed to define the concept of dose optimisation. A significant relationship (p < 0.05) was observed between radiographers' years of clinical experience of radiography and failure to define the dose optimisation concept. Regarding knowledge of the DRLs, 60.6% of participants exhibited awareness of their knowledge, while between 65.7% and 70.7% of participants were unable to correctly identify DRLs' concept and function. More than half of the participants lacked training in the national DRLs in hospital settings. ConclusionThe study revealed limitations in the radiographers’ DRL awareness, indicating the necessity of initiating training programmes focusing on DRL for radiographers.
Published Version
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