Evaluation of personal protective equipment use in healthcare workers exposed to ionizing radiation in a Portuguese university hospital

INTRODUCTION: Increasing use of ionizing radiation in hospitals exposes healthcare workers to health risks, therefore dosimetric surveillance and anti-radiation personal protective equipment are essential. However, low perception of risk has a negative impact on compliance. OBJECTIVES: To qualitatively characterize exposure to ionizing radiation and the compliance with anti-radiation personal protective equipment and personal dosimeters by workers, at a university hospital in Portugal. To investigate the impact of attending health examinations or participating in training activities on this compliance. METHODS: Cross-sectional study design administering a questionnaire constructed by the authors to all healthcare workers exposed to ionizing radiation (n = 708). RESULTS: A total of 295 workers completed the questionnaire. They worked in 16 different services using eight different types of ionizing radiation-emitting equipment, the most common of which were fluoroscopes. Lead aprons and thyroid protectors were the anti-radiation personal protective equipment with greatest compliance (61.7 and 55.6%, respectively), while fewer respondents used protective glasses (8.1%) and lead gloves (0.7%). Regular use of a dosimeter was reported by 78.3% of workers and use was associated with participation in training and with attending health examinations. The most frequent reasons given for not wearing anti-radiation personal protective equipment were unavailability (glasses and gloves), presence of a protective barrier, and discomfort. The most common reason for not using a dosimeter was forgetting to do so. CONCLUSIONS: Workers who attended training and those who attended health examinations were more compliant with use of dosimeters, indicating that these are useful strategies for improving workers’ compliance with radiation protection measures.