An estimate of the frequency of diagnostic X-ray examinations in Kenya in 1986.

The frequency of radiological examinations in a country is an important indicator of the general scope of such services in that setting. Frequency data obtained from surveys provide health planners with valuable information that can form an objective basis for resource allocation. Also, from the point of view of radiation protection, the collection of data on the frequency of different types of radiological examination is one of the essential steps in the process of estimating the collective risks to the population of exposure to diagnostic X-rays. The findings in this study indicate that: radiological coverage of the population is inadequate; simple radiological examinations of the limbs and the chest constitute the bulk of the radiological workload; and some trained radiological staff may be underutilized. These results may have general implications for strategies on the expansion of radiological services in other developing countries.