Aims and objectives
By definition,
ionizing radiation is radiation with enough energy so that during an interaction with na atom,
it can remove tightly bound electrons from the orbit of an atom,
causing the atom to become charged or ionized.
It can be considered as the energy that is transported by any of the various types of particles and electromagnetic radiation emitted by radioactive materials,
x-rays tubes and nuclear reactions (WHO,
2018).
When exposed to ionizing radiation,
the cells can undergo biological damage due to the physical and/or...
Methods and materials
A cross-sectional,
non-experimental research design was adopted.
An electronic self-applied questionnaire developed by Costa (2015) was used and assigned to the Portuguese general population.
The questionnaires consisted of two main sections to evaluate the demographic data of the participants and the radiation knowledge/awareness and risks associated with medical imaging procedures.
The independent variables in this study are age,
gender,
literacy,
residence,
type of imaging procedure performed and how often you those procedures are taken.
As dependent variables questions such as the following: if the doctor...
Results
The main results related to the knowledge about radiation that is used in the different procedures are exposed in the in the Fig. 1 and it can be observed that when participants are asked whether General Radiology used ionizing radiation,
94.5% correctly answered.
So,
most of the respondents have notion that general radiology uses ionizing radiation.
Regarding the Computed Tomography,
responses were more divergent since 53.6% answered that it uses ionizing radiation during the exams.
In the case of magnetic resonance imaging,
49.3% of the...
Conclusion
Although many of the participants had performed previously radiological examinations,
they had inadequate knowledge and mistaken beliefs about various aspects about ionizing radiation and its effects.
Most respondents know that ionizing radiation has health risks (including cancer risk),
but most of them are unaware that are exposed to radiation during a flight.
Therefore,
it would be appropriate to include lessons about radiation and side effects in the national education programs.
In waiting rooms,
informative brochures about radiation could be useful for the patients.
Since the...
Personal information
Diogo Mestre (BSc),
Collaborator in the Medical Imaging and Radiotherapy Department,
Health School - University of Algarve,
Portugal.
E-mail:
[email protected]
Rui Almeida (MSc),
Professor in the Medical Imaging and Radiotherapy Department,
Health School - University of Algarve,
Portugal.
Radiographer in Centro Hospitalar Universitário do Algarve - Faro,
Portugal.
Researcher in CICS.NOVA.UÉvora (Interdisciplinary Centre of Social Sciences – Évora Centre) and Member of the Studies Center in Healthcare (CES-ESSUALG).
E- mail:
[email protected]
Luís Ribeiro (PhD),
Professor in the Medical Imaging and Radiotherapy Department,
Health School -...
References
Costa,
C.,
Preto,
L.,
Rodrigues,
V.
(2015).
O conhecimento dos utentes sobre os riscos da radiação X.
In Saúde: do Desafio ao Compromisso.
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350-360.
ISBN 978-989-97708-5-0
Direcão Geral de Saúde.
(2016).
Guia técnico número 1.
Vigilancia da Saúde dos Trabalhadores Expostos a Radiacão Ionizante.
Shahbazi-Gahrouei,
D.,
Setayandeh,
S.,
& Gholami,
M.
(2013).
A review on natural background radiation.
Advanced Biomedical Research,
2(1),
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https://doi.org/10.4103/2277-9175.115821
Sin,
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Wong,
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Huang,
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Yiu,
K.
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