Assessment of Knowledge and Attitude of Nurses towards Ionizing Radiation during Radiography in Jeddah City, 2017

Abstract

Background: The nurses working in radiation wards need to have an adequate knowledge about the risks and preventive measures of radiation exposure to protect themselves from health hazards of radiation as well as giving the patient the correct information about radiation exposure practices. Adiography in Jeddah city, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). Methods: A cross sectional study was assessed among 300 nurses in Jeddah city from June 2017 to August 2017. All the nurses were interviewed then filled up a questionnaire sheet. The questionnaire included 3 parts and the first part comprised questions about the demographics of included subjects, the second and third parts included questions about the knowledge and attitude of nurses toward radiation. Results: The majority of nurses (65%) had adequate knowledge regarding the ionizing radiation risk factors and protective measures and about 35% had poor knowledge. The level of nurse’s attitude was good among 79% and poor among 21% toward ionizing radiation. The level of knowledge was significantly associated with the level of educational degree and magnitude of practical years of experience. Conclusion: the nurses’ radiation protection knowledge and attitude were good among most of nurses. However, there is a need for other educational safety programs to increase the knowledge of the rest of nurses.