International Classification of the Pneumoconiosis Radiograph Reader Training in Turkey

We aimed to determine the characteristics of physicians who had attended the Readers Training of the International Labour Organization International Classification of Radiographs of Pneumoconioses (ILO ICRP) in Turkey.

This study included 601 physicians attending the Reader Training of the ILO ICRP. Data were collected using an electronic questionnaire, and the inclusiveness of the study was 29.8% (n=179).

In this study, 70.6% of the physicians were men, and the mean age was 48.6±9.6 years; 46.6% of the participants had at least one medical specialty or side branch specialty, and 51.8% were pulmonologists. Furthermore, 52.6% of the physicians worked in the private sector, and 86.6% had an occupational physician certificate. Moreover, 55.3% of the participants evaluated the radiographs using the authority gained by the certification, and 68.3% of those who did not evaluate the films stated that the reason for not evaluating the films was a lack of demand. Participants who evaluated radiographs had received a demand for films most frequently from 1 to 2 different jobs (33.4%) and from 1 to 3 different workplaces (30.1%). Most films came from the mining (47.5%) and quarrying (50.5%) sectors. Some participants (64.3%) stated that the quality of the radiographs was insufficient, 59.2% experienced difficulties because the radiographs were not obtained using proper techniques, 23.4% stated that the fees per film evaluated were low, and 81.5% believed that update training is necessary.

The demand for these services will increase in line with the training and surveillance as stipulated by the legislation.