Objective: To assess the knowledge and awareness about radiation among patients visiting our institution.
Methodology: This cross-sectional study was carried out atSocial Security hospital, Islamabad, Pakistan from June 2008 to November 2009. A questionnaire was used to collect date from 192 patients who came for radiological procedures.
Results: Out of 192 patients, 99 (51.6%) were female while 93 (48.4%) were male. The age ranged from 10 years to 70 years. 58.3% had first radiological procedure while 41.7% had more than once. 53.12% had some knowledge about radiation and 75% correctly answered that x-ray examination involved ionizing radiation. 69% thought cancer as the major side effect of radiation. Males are slightly more informed as compared to the females (67% versus 45%) about the radiation.
Conclusion: This study shows that there is lack of awareness among the general public about radiation exposure and it side effects.
Naushaba Malik, Fatima Usman, Shazia Fatima, Ghazal Jameel, Usman Ali Trimizi. (2014) Awareness of hazards of Radiation in patients visiting Radiology department of Social Security hospital Islamabad, , Volume-39, Issue-4.
