Research Information System
Acta Medica Alanya, vol.4, no.3, pp.285-290, 2020 (Peer-Reviewed Journal)
Aim: To evaluate radiation exposure and awareness of radiation in healthcare professionals exposed to ionizing radiation. Material and Methods: The study was carried out at the Alanya Alaaddin Keykubat University Training and Research Hospital and the Süleyman Demirel University Hospital. Physicians, nurses, paramedics, anesthesia technicians, caregivers and cleaning staff exposed to radiation, participated in the study. An inquiry form was prepared to carry out the study, in which the demographic characteristics of the healthcare professionals, the characteristics related to the radiation they were exposed to, the effects that may occur due to this exposure were asked; the relationship between these was statistically analyzed according to the answers. Results: One hundred twenty-nine healthcare professionals, 81 men and 48 women, participated in the study. Most of the healthcare professionals exposed to radiation have been working for more than 10 years and at a distance of less than 3 meters to the radiation source. Thirty-two of the participants (24.8%) did not use any personal protective equipment. On the day of exposure to radiation, 91 persons (70.54%) were experiencing symptoms such as weakness, fatigue, and headache, unlike other days. It was determined that personal protective equipment use did not correlate to education levels and radiation training background. Conclusion: Most of the healthcare professionals exposed to radiation have not previously received any training on radiation and do not use personal protective equipment regularly. This situation causes these persons to complain of weakness, tiredness or headaches at the end of the day.