Assessment of physicians' knowledge and awareness about the hazards of radiological examinations on the health of their patients.

Previous studies have shown that physicians tend to underestimate the risks to patients of radiation exposure. This study in 2 Palestinian hospitals aimed to assess physicians' knowledge about the risks associated with the use of radiological examinations. A questionnaire answered by 163 physicians revealed many gaps in knowledge. Only one-third of physicians had received a radiation protection course during their undergraduate study or in the workplace. Few physicians were able to answer correctly many scientific, knowledge-based questions. For example, only 6.1% of the respondents were able to identify the ALARA principle and 98.2% did not know that there is no safe dose limit according to international recommendations. Physicians' practices in terms of frequency of use of routine X-rays and discussing the risks with patients were also poor. These results clearly indicate the need to increase Palestinian physicians' knowledge and awareness about the potential hazards associated with the use of radiological examinations.