Adherence to Radiation Safety Measures and Its Impact on Self-Reported Occupational Health Problems among Radiology Staff
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Background: Radiology personnel may experience occupational radiation exposure alongside ergonomic and psychosocial health risks. Adherence to established safety practices is essential, but its relationship with self-reported occupational health problems remains insufficiently understood. Objective: To assess radiation-safety adherence, self-reported occupational health problems, and the association between these outcomes among radiology staff. Methods: This descriptive analytical cross-sectional study included 96 radiology personnel selected through convenience sampling from public and private hospitals. Participants completed a self-administered questionnaire covering professional characteristics, radiation-safety adherence, and occupational health problems. Descriptive statistics, Cronbach’s alpha, independent-samples t-tests, and Pearson and Spearman correlations were calculated using IBM SPSS Statistics version 27.0. Results: Most participants were female (91.7%) and worked in general diagnostic imaging (76.0%). The mean radiation-safety adherence score was 16.97 ± 4.82, and the scale demonstrated acceptable internal consistency (α = 0.757). The mean occupational health-problem score was 19.34 ± 4.51, although its internal consistency was weak (α = 0.573). Neither radiation-safety adherence (p = 0.987) nor occupational health-problem scores (p = 0.583) differed significantly by sex. Radiation-safety adherence was moderately and positively correlated with occupational health-problem scores using Pearson analysis (r = 0.480, 95% CI: 0.309–0.621; p < 0.001) and Spearman analysis (ρ = 0.501, 95% CI: 0.334–0.637; p < 0.001). Conclusion: Greater reported safety adherence was associated with greater reporting of occupational health problems; however, the cross-sectional design prevents causal interpretation
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