Radiation safety in an era of diagnostic radiology growth in Africa: Lessons learned from Tanzania

Abstract

PurposeAs radiology continues to grow in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), radiation exposure and risk to patients and staff will concurrently increase. This study aims to assess the knowledge of radiation safety among medical staff in Tanzania. MethodsA survey was distributed to 350 staff members at a national referral hospital in Tanzania over a 7-month period (February–August 2021). This consisted of a structured questionnaire evaluating participants' knowledge and awareness ionizing radiation and radiation safety. Chi-square and Fisher's exact tests were used to determine the association between independent and dependent categorical variables. ResultsA total of 300 surveys were completed (86% response rate). Mean age was 31 and 53% of participants were female. The majority (89%) were clinical staff employed in direct patient care. Most reported having heard of radiation protection (85%) but only 61% reported receiving training in radiation protection. Regarding radiation knowledge, 73% correctly answered how to protect oneself from radiation and 74% knew which medical staff were at greater risk of radiation exposure. However, only 32% correctly answered which imaging tests emit more radiation and only 53% correctly answered which age group was at greatest risk of radiation effects. Non-clinical staff had a significantly lower radiation awareness than clinical staff, with 69.7% reporting having heard about radiation protection, compared to 88.3% of clinical staff (p = 0.004). Female participants were more knowledgeable of radiation risks in pregnancy (p = 0.002). More early career staff reported receiving radiation protection training (64.5%) compared to those with >5 years work experience (53.9%), though this difference was not statistically significant (p = 0.09). When stratifying radiation knowledge by high (score of 80–100%), moderate (60–79.9%) and low (<60%), 20% of participants scored high, 47% moderate, and 33% low. ConclusionMost staff had low to moderate knowledge on radiation safety. Our findings highlight the importance of education on ionizing radiation as medical imaging continues to rise in Africa.