Electronic Journal of Biology

Radiobiology Knowledge Level of Radiologists

Background: The effects of radiation on the biological systems of the human body are well known. It is critical for radiologists who are involved in the medical radiation field to have sufficient knowledge about biological effects of radiation such as cancer to avoid possible risks to patients and themselves. The aims of this study were to assess the knowledge level of radiologists about understanding the relationship between radiation dose level and possible biological effects, and to test whether experience and training courses can affect the knowledge level.
Methods and findings: A questionnaire was designed to cover most of radiobiology areas such as radiation induced cancer risk and radiation dose estimation sections, and radiologists from different departments of 4 major hospitals were asked to fill out the questionnaires. A total of 23 radiologists agreed to participate in the study. The mean total score of all sections was 59%. Among individual sections, the lowest mean score was for radiation induced cancer section (55%). Radiologists who carried out training courses scored higher than radiologists without training courses (61%, 54%, respectively). Experience (5.1 ± 0.9) did not correlate significantly with the questionnaire scores. Conclusion: The radiobiology knowledge level can be improved by encouraging radiologists to attend more training courses specifically in the radiation induced cancer risk area and this may enhance overall understanding of the relationship between radiation dose and biological effects.

Author(s):

Mustafa Khaled Alhasan

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