Samuel Anim-Sampong, Samuel Yaw Opoku, Patience Addo, Benard Ohene Botwe
Ionizing radiation is used extensively in the field of medicine for either diagnosis or treatment. Hence, an understanding of radiation safety principles and how to apply them in practice is critical for nursing practice. The study was performed to assess nurses’ knowledge of ionizing radiation and radiation protection during mobile radiodiagnostic examination. A quantitative, descriptive cross-sectional survey was employed for this study to provide better means of investigating and assessing the knowledge, misconceptions and perceptions among 43 nurses assigned to clinical rotations in selected wards of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital regarding ionizing radiation and its radiation protection. A purposive sampling method using self-administered questionnaires was used to obtain data in respect of the study. The obtained data was analyzed using SPSS version 16.0. Out of the population of 43 nurses, 25.6% (n=11) were of the view that objects in the X-ray room emitted radiation after an x-ray exposure and the same percentage indicated that dangerous radiation is emitted from good quality microwave equipment. Also, 37.2% (n= 14) presumed that patients emitted radiation after an x-ray examination, while 60.5% (n=26) were of the opinion that magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) procedure was a source of ionizing radiation. The majority of nurses have inadequate knowledge and mistaken beliefs about various aspects of radiation sources and its protection. A course on radiation and radiation safety principles for nurses is thus recommended.
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