Abstract
Title: Assessment of Knowledge and Attitude of Nurses towards Ionizing Radiation during Theatre/Ward Radiography Objective: To assess the knowledge and attitude of nurses towards radiation protection In Maiduguri metropolis. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional survey design was used. A quota sampling technique was used to draw a total of 188 registered nurses from three tertiary hospitals in Maiduguri metropolis; University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH), Federal Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital Maiduguri (FNPH), and State Specialist Hospital Maiduguri (SSH) participated in the study. Data was obtained using a 14- item self completion questionnaire that was administered to nursing staff of these hospitals. The questionnaire was divided into 2 sections. Section A; on demographic data and Section B; on knowledge and attitude. Data obtained were analyzed using SPSS version 18.0 and descriptive statistics was used for the analysis. Results: There were more female than male participants with a ratio of 1.09:1. Majority of the nurses (74%) were below the age of forty (40). Most of the nurses 68 (36.2%) had diploma as their highest qualification followed by 61 (32.4%) certificate holders. The level of knowledge on radiation was found to be good and positive attitude towards radiation during ward/theater radiography. Conclusion: Findings of this study revealed that nurses within Maiduguri metropolis had good knowledge of ionizing radiation, although their attitude towards radiation protection during ward/theater radiography is still less than required.
Highlights
Radiation has always been present in our environment; mankind was not directly aware of its existence until the end of the 19th century, when flurries of scientific discoveries were made [1]
The potential risks of radiation comprises of stochastic effect of which probability increases with dose and deterministic effect of which severity increases with dose [5]
The study was conducted in three tertiary hospitals in Maiduguri Borno State, Northeastern Nigeria, and the target population was all nurses working in the departments, units or wards where radiographers may sometimes be requested to carry out certain radiographic examinations on patients who are critically ill and who may not be able to be moved to the radiology department for their examination, like patients in the intensive care unit (ICU), orthopedic ward, accident and emergency unit among others
Summary
Radiation has always been present in our environment; mankind was not directly aware of its existence until the end of the 19th century, when flurries of scientific discoveries were made [1]. The risk of radiation awareness among the people by the media is aggressive and exaggerated which creates several misconception, confusion and erroneous beliefs that exist with regard to in-hospital radiation hazards. Ionizing radiation in medical imaging is one of the powerful diagnostic tools in medicine [3], several studies have revealed that many doctors have reported that to complete their diagnosis they always sent their patients for a radiologic examination [4]. The potential risks of radiation comprises of stochastic effect of which probability increases with dose and deterministic effect of which severity increases with dose [5]. Before undertaking any radiological examination, it is important that the physician, radiologist and radiographer all understand the potential risks of radiation and its advantages or benefits to the patients [5]
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