Awareness Assessment of Nurses in the OR, ICU, CCU, and PICU About Radiation Protection Principles of Portable Radiography in Hospitals of Bandar Abbas, Iran

Utilization of ionizing radiation as portable radiography sometimes is necessary in surgery operations, intensive care units, coronary care units, and pediatric intensive care units that may cause radiation exposure to personnel. The aim of this study was the evaluation of nurses' awareness level about radiation protection principles of the portable radiography in emergency care units. The study was performed on nurses working at two hospitals in Bandar Abbas. For data collection, a researcher-made questionnaire including two sections was used. The first section was related to demographic information of the nurses. The second section included questions related to the nurses' awareness in three fields, including radiation physics, radiation protection, and radiation hazards. Finally, the data were analyzed using the SPSS, version 11.5 software (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL). The result showed that there was no significant difference between the level of awareness in male and female nurses (p = .565). Also, there was not a significant difference between the nurses' awareness about radiation protection principles with work experience and workplace (p = .393 and .337, respectively). However, there was a significant difference between the nurses' awareness about radiation protection and education level (p = .016). According to the results of this study, nurses' awareness about radiation protection principles is not good, especially among nurses with an associate degree. It seems that their educational level and awareness of potential hazards associated with the use of radiographic examinations need to be increased. To achieve this goal, implementation of periodic training courses for these personnel could be an effective method.