Radiographers' experiences of the management of quality assurance programmes in public hospitals, South Africa

In radiology departments, quality assurance (QA) is central to the production of good quality images. Radiographers who manage QA programmes are often faced with challenges that hinder the execution of the required quality control (QC) tests. The objective of this research study was to explore and describe the experiences of diagnostic radiographers and radiography managers who are responsible for the management of QA programmes in digital diagnostic imaging departments (DDIDs) in public hospitals of a large metropolitan area. This study was conducted in a South African (RSA) context.

A qualitative, explorative, descriptive, and contextual research design was utilised, data were collected by means of semi-structured interviews. The target population comprised of 16 public hospital radiographers and radiography managers and data collection continued until data saturation was achieved (n = 10).

The participants provided pragmatic information regarding their experiences of the management of QA programmes in public DDIDs from which two main themes emerged. The first indicated that management support is required to ensure the success of the QA programme. The second provided suggestions on how to optimise the QA programme.

Participants articulated the importance of management guidance in QA programmes, with specific emphasis on staffing, training, time allocation and budgeting. Difficulties in terms of equipment maintenance were linked to inadequate budgeting. Participants experienced a need for all staff to be trained and involved in the QA programme in order to reduce delay in the performance of the QC tests when the QA officer was not available.