Quality of life and professional quality of life of radiographers working in Portugal and England - A comparative study

Global healthcare systems are characterized by a very competitive era, marked by constant changes, recurrent technological innovations, increased workflows, and many other aspects that require qualified and motivated healthcare professionals to be able to meet the demands and to provide quality healthcare services 1, 2, 3. Although it is a concept susceptible to many definitions due to its multidimensality and subjectivity, the World Health Organization (WHO) defines Quality of Life (QL) as an individual’s perception of their position in life concerning the values and culture...info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Effectiveness of shielding in computed tomography examinations

Computed Tomography (CT) is an important tool in providing high-quality crosssectional images of the body using ionizing radiation and computational reconstruction techniques. CT has transformed much of medical imaging by providing three-dimensional views of the organ or body region of interest. CT involves larger radiation doses than the more common, conventional x-ray imaging procedures, and technological developments have contributed to the increase of number and diversity of scanning procedures, in adults and pediatrics patients. Since an increasing number of CT scans are being obtained, the...info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Evaluation of the patient exposure dose during ERCP Fluoroscopy guided procedures

Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) is a diagnostic/therapeutic fluoroscopy guided procedure that includes upper gastrointestinal endoscopy allowing the treatment of the bile and pancreatic ducts pathologies. Currently, ERCP is mostly used in therapy, which turns in to longer procedures, with potential higher doses of ionizing radiation to the patient and due to the cancer development risk it's relevant to evaluate dose exposure during ERCP. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) defined the mean dose area product (DAP) for ERCP diagnostic procedures as 15 Gy.cm2 and mean...info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Patient safety culture: radiographers’ perception

Research to evaluate radiographers’ perceptions about patient safety culture in Portuguese public and private imaging facilities found that overall perception is positive but the safety culture dimensions rating should guide culture development of safety culture improvement action plans.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Anode heel effect attenuation in lumbar spine radiography: can the use of aluminium filters improve clinical practice of radiographers?

Purpose: The aim of this study was to design an aluminiumbased fi lter to reduce the anode heel eff ect in lumbar spine radiographs. Methods: Initially, lumbar spine examinations were observed in a public imaging department to determine standard exposure parameters. Then, the characterization of the anode heel eff ect was made using the Unfors Xi R/F detector and, based on the data collected, aluminium fi lters were designed with a wedge shape and thicknesses ranging from 0.1 to 4.0 mm. The assessment of the entrance skin dose (ESD) reduction was performed on the anthropomorphic phantom with and without fi lters, using the universal dosimeter UNIDOS E equipped with an ionization chamber. Finally, the image quality assessment was performed with the Pehamed Phantom Digrad A+K and image quality surveys were applied to radiographers and radiologists. Results and Discussion: Uniformity of the beam was achieved, especially with fi lter number 2, which presents a signifi cant variation of 9% between the cathodic and anodic side. This fi lter contributes to ESD reduction of 35% and 36% for AP and lateral projection, respectively. Also, according to radiographers and radiologists, it improves the image quality of lumbar spine radiography. Conclusion: The use of aluminium fi lters can be advantageous in the clinical practice of radiographers when performing lumbar spine radiographs since it allows the standardization of the anode heel eff ect, reduces the radiation dose to the patient and does not compromise image quality.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Avaliação da exposição à Radiação Ionizante de pacientes submetidos a procedimentos de CPRE com recurso a fluoroscopia

Objetivo: Avaliar as doses de exposição a radiação ionizante de pacientes submetidos a procedimentos de CPRE. Metodologia: Recolha de uma amostra de dados em duas instituições num total de 267 pacientes, 198 numa instituição pública (A) e 69 numa instituição privada (B). Resultados: A mediana dos tempos de fluoroscopia é semelhante entre as duas instituições em estudo, 4 minutos e 17 segundos na instituição A e 4 minutos e 21 segundos na instituição B, porém verifica-se uma diferença na mediana do DAP com valores de 3,60 Gy.cm2 e 13,21 Gy.cm2. A dose efetiva mediana estimada foi, respetivamente, de 0,94 mSv e 3,43 mSv. Conclusão: As doses de exposição encontram-se dentro do intervalo de valores praticados na literatura, sendo a avaliação do risco de desenvolvimento de cancro, como consequência da exposição a procedimentos de CPRE, na Instituição A de 0,006% e na Instituição B de 0,025%.Objective: Evaluation of exposure of patients to ionizing radiation in ERCP procedures using fluoroscopy. Metodology: Collection data at two institutions, 267 patients totaling, 198 in a public institution (A) and 69 in a private institution (B). Results: The median of fluoroscopy times is similar between the two institutions under the study, 4 minutes and 17 seconds at institution A and 4 minutes and 21 seconds at institution B, however there was a difference in the median of DAP with values of 3,60 Gy.cm2 and 13,21 Gy.cm2. The median of estimated effective dose was, respectively 0,94 mSv and 3,43 mSv. Conclusion: Exposure doses are within the range of values of the practiced literature, in which evaluation of the risk of developing cancer, due to exposure to ERCP procedures, is 0,006% at Institution A and 0,025% at Institution B.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Patient perceptions of radiographer communication skills in general radiology

The purpose of this study was to explore of patient perceptions regarding the performance of the Radiographer in terms of interpersonal communication skills and to verify that the professional practice is carried out in accordance with a policy of respect for the Radiographers code of ethics and the charter of patients' rights and duties

Job satisfaction of radiographers: a comparative study

The job satisfaction can be described as "the pleasurable emotional state resulting from the appraisal of one's job as achieving or facilitating the achievement of one's job values", being important to consider motivation and dissatisfaction factors (1) (2). It is known that the issues related to the profession have a general concern for all professionals, so there is a need to study the satisfaction of radiographers of our country and a foreign country, taking into account the professional conditions offered by the hospital and other job satisfaction factors in order to determine whether there are indeed the differences (3). The aim of this study was to evaluate the job satisfaction levels of radiographers from two different European countries (A and B). Professional satisfaction is a concept that has been defined in different ways over the years by several authors, in which the most frequent affirms that satisfaction is a synonym of motivation, attitude or positive emotional state, influencing the worker in his mental health, their behavior and presenting repercussions both at personal and organizational level. Despite the positive overall results concerning job satisfaction in both countries, strategies are suggested for enhancing radiographer job satisfaction levels for each significant dimension. Further research should be undertaken in this area, including a larger sample size with more radiographers, more countries and private imaging departments. Potentially this work could support the development of an european strategy to offer better support to radiographers and the wider radiography workforce

Internship supervisors' perception of the radiography students in clinical environment

The main goal of this research was to identify and describe the perception of internship supervisors of the radiography students in clinical environment about their competencies, skills and characteristics

Job satisfaction of radiographers

The purpose of this research was to evaluate the professional satisfaction of radiographers using the basic task dimensions tool developed primarily by Hackman e Oldham