HOW KNOWLEDGEABLE ARE NON-RADIOLOGY DOCTORS ON IONIZING RADIATION?

Background: Due to the risk of hazard from ionizing radiation, non-radiology doctors who refer patients to the radiology departments ought to be knowledgeable enough about what their patients are subjected to. The high throughput of radiology requests in our centre in Nigeria justifies this study. Aim: To evaluate the level of knowledge of non-radiology doctors on ionizing radiation with a view to reviewing local protocols on justification of investigations involving ionizing radiation. Material and method: Eighty (80) structured questionnaires were administered to non-radiology doctors practising in different hospitals n Kano city, Nigeria. Answers were elicited on radiation protection principles, concept of ionizing radiation, radiation effects, imaging modalities that emit ionizing radiation, radiation measurements and attitude towards ionizing radiation. Results: Seventy questionnaires were returned out of the eighty sent out with sixty-four (80 %) being properly filled. Knowledge of non-radiology doctors was variable on different indices; 15.6 %, n = 10 (fundamental principles of radiation protection); 45.3 %, n = 29 (effects of ionizing radiation); 34.4 %, n = 22 (knowledge on ionizing property of radiation); 73 %, n = 47 (emission of ionizing radiation by computed tomography); and 85.9 %, n = 55 (interest in specific modality). Conclusion: Non-radiology doctors in Kano metropolis have fairly good knowledge of potential hazards of radiation.