Assessing the knowledge of CT radiographers regarding how CT parameters affect patient dose and image quality.

PURPOSE

The objective of this study was to assess the current knowledge of CT radiographers regarding the optimization of CT parameters and their consequential effects on both patient dose and image quality.

METHOD

A nationwide, cross sectional study was conducted from the 2nd of January 2023 to 1st of March 2023 to evaluate CT radiographers' knowledge in managing CT parameters in Jordan. Recruitment involved convenience sampling where radiographers were invited to participate and complete the questionnaire. Descriptive statistics were used to report the normalized knowledge scores. Student's t-test and ANOVA were used to investigate and compare the outcomes between different subgroups. A forward stepwise linear regression was used to investigate the influence of a number of technologist related factors on the knowledge score.

RESULTS

Three hundred and fifty-seven radiographers participated in the study, with a mean knowledge score of 69.0%. Participants with an academic master's degree had a significantly higher score of 72.1% compared to the ones with a diploma degree, with a score of 66.8% (p = 0.026). No statistically significant difference was found between radiographers that received additional training and the ones that did not. Furthermore, when investigating the effects of academic education, working sector, additional training and years of experience, only education had a statistically significant impact on the knowledge score.

CONCLUSION

The results demonstrate that radiographers have an overall good understanding of CT parameters, with academic education having a significant influence on their performance.