Patient knowledge and acceptance of radiation safety measures correlated to actual exposure records: A survey study

With the growing prevalence of the use of ionising radiation as a method of medical imaging, it is important to promote patient involvement in the effect of ionising radiation and its relation to medical imaging. Therefore, it is of interest to assess knowledge and acceptance of radiation safety practices amongst 255 adult patients and to compare the results of this survey to patients recorded exposure to radiation. The survey indicated that only 38% of respondents had a high level of understanding of radiation safety practices and only 42% accepted all recommended practices. Patients in the study experienced a mean exposure dose of 4.2 ± 1.8 mSv. Patients with higher levels of knowledge and acceptance of radiation safety practices were associated with less exposure to radiation (p < 0.05) and also predicted decreased exposure to radiation after multivariable adjustment (p < 0.05). Thus, if there is increased structured patient education, this will likely result in better patient compliance with safe use of ionising radiation and will help to optimise radiation exposure.