Diagnostic and interventional radiology medical physics community in the Asia–Pacific region: an IAEA individual-level survey of medical physicists on professional perceptions and workforce challenges

Diagnostic and interventional radiology services are expanding across the Asia–Pacific region, increasing the demand for clinically qualified medical physicists. Despite this growth, there is limited individual-level input on the challenges faced by the medical physics radiology community across the region, as previous regional and international workforce surveys have largely relied on data reported by national professional bodies or designated country representatives. This study reports the findings of an individual-level survey conducted under an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) project on “Improving the Quality and Safety of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology Services to Benefit Health Care by Enhancing the Status, Knowledge and Skills of Medical Physicists (RAS6109)”. The aim of the survey was to capture professional perceptions and workforce challenges of medical physicists in diagnostic and interventional radiology. The survey was distributed online between November 2025 and January 2026 (three months) to medical physicists practising in, or with an interest in, diagnostic and interventional radiology. A total of 770 valid responses from the Asia–Pacific region were analysed. The findings showed that there is a substantial proportion of early-career professionals, frequent cross-multidisciplinary practice and heterogeneous training pathways with limited access to structured and supervised clinical training. Professional activities are predominantly focused on radiation protection and quality assurance, while respondents expressed a clear desire to increase their involvement in research and broader clinical activities. Key perceived barriers to workforce development include limited understanding of the medical physicist role, unclear role definition, and the absence of regulatory requirements. The findings from the survey highlight the need for strengthened clinical training pathways, clearer regulatory requirements aligned with international standards and guidelines, enhanced professional recognition, and sustained regional capacity-building initiatives to support the development of radiology medical physics in the Asia–Pacific region. Individual-level insights from this study complement existing national and institutional surveys and provide an evidence base to support workforce development and capacity-building initiatives in the region.