Results of a Global Survey on the State of Interventional Radiology 2024.

PURPOSE

To characterize the current state of interventional radiology (IR) practice and education worldwide and to identify factors impacting access to IR services.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A Society of Interventional Radiology (SIR)-approved, anonymous survey was created to gather data on demographics, regional IR practice and education characteristics, and challenges impacting local IR development. The survey was distributed to members of global IR societies and shared on social media from June 2022 to September 2023.

RESULTS

Of 1,263 respondents, 987 provided specialty affiliations, including 811 interventional radiologists, 85 diagnostic radiologists (DRs), and 91 interventional radiologists/DRs. Two hundred sixty identified as attending/consultants, 185 as residents/fellows, 12 as medical students, and 7 as technologists/nurses. IR awareness was the greatest reported need globally. Education, patient referrals, and training were also common needs. When compared with North American training programs, there were significant shortages of dedicated IR training programs in Africa (odds ratio [OR], 0.06; P < .001), Asia (OR, 0.50; P = .004), Europe (OR, 0.12; P < .001), and Oceania (OR, 0.12; P < .001). Significant shortage of any IR exposure during radiology training was observed in Africa (OR, 0.31; P < .001), Asia (OR, 0.16; P < .001), and South America (OR, 0.14; P < .001). Additional challenges included awareness and support in the hospital setting and competition with other specialties. Compared with respondents from North America, the top 3 actions recommended to provide the most significant relative impact included establishing IR training programs, providing access to online education, and holding multidisciplinary conferences.

CONCLUSIONS

This survey established the universal needs to increase patient awareness about IR and improve dedicated IR training programs. The results can help guide organizational and societal efforts to improve access to IR services worldwide.