Institution
The article highlights the safety procedures that should be observed in radiology. Various variables are of concern in determining the factors that contribute to negligence and poor levels of safety in radiation practices, and risks of radiation exposure to patients and personnel.
A survey carried out in 1993 on 2000 radiographers certified by the radiology board aimed at determining the relationship between certification and compliance with safety practices in radiography. The objective of the study was to improve radiation practice safety and advance the practice and education of radiology in work sites. Certification of radiographers was of the essence because the study indicated that safety procedures in radiation directly related to the level of certification.
Several variables were considered in the study, both independent and dependent. The independent variables included professional training, nature of the work site, professional experience, and higher education participation. On the other hand, dependent variables included adherence to safety procedures and knowledge of the safety practices. Radiographers with more years of experience committed less technical errors than those with few years of experience. College-trained technologists also had fewer cases of errors than hospital-trained ones.
The hypothesis proposed in the study was null indicating that independent variables were not related to the dependent variables in any way. However, the results of the study revealed that there was a correlation between the two variables. A person’s years of experience, work site, the level of education and advancement in education were related to compliance and knowledge of the safety procedures. Questionnaires were used for data collection, where they were administered to various technologists. The results were analyzed using Spearman rank correlation and Kendal tau rank correlation, which analyzed the relationship between dependent and independent variables. Inter-variable relationship was determined using chi-square test and the phi coefficient.
The study results showed that the level of compliance with safety procedures in radiology is utterly low. Large work stations had higher levels of compliance than smaller ones. Moreover, years of experience in radiology and the level of education of the technologists also related directly to the levels of compliance with the safety practices. In addition, appropriate training at the college level should be offered to radiographers so that the risks to personnel and patients can reduce.
Reference
- Sletcha, M. A., (2008). An examination of factors related to radiation protection practices. Radiologic technology, 79(4), 297-304.