KNOWLEDGE AND ATTITUDE OF RADIOLOGY TECHNOLOGISTS TOWARDS CARDIOPULMONARY RESUSCITATION

Background: The number of casualties and critically ill patients referred to radiology departments increased during the past decade, which caused the risk of cardiac arrest in radiology departments to increase considerably. Objectives: The current study aimed to evaluate the knowledge and attitude of radiology technologists regarding Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR). Patients and Methods: After approval a cross sectional study was designed. Ninety five radiology technologists (male and female) were selected in four tertiary referral hospitals in Ahvaz, Iran. Accordingly, 87 radiologic technologists of which agreed to participate in the study. The researchers developed a questionnaire. The questionnaire consisted of three distinct sections including demographic data, attitude, and technical knowledge questions. Reliability of the technical knowledge questions were evaluated using Cronbach’s alpha (76%). Data collection was performed using interview method. Results: Of the total 87 questionnaires, one was incomplete. None of the participants had attended a training program since employment. The average scores of attitude towards CPR and technical knowledge were 80 ± 8.9 and 8.8 ± 2.3, respectively. A correlation was observed between age and work experience (r = 0.866, P ≤ 0.0001), age and technical knowledge (r = 0.380, P ≤ 0.0001), work experience and technical knowledge (r = 0.317, P = 0.003), and attitude and technical knowledge (r = 0.397, P ≤ 0.0001). Also a correlation was observed between work experience and attitude (r = 0.385, P ≤ 0.0001). No significant difference was observed between male and female subjects’ technical knowledge (P ≥ 0.05) and attitude (P ≥ 0.05). Conclusions: It can be concluded that, although the attitude of participants towards CPR was positive in general, their technical knowledge was poor. This finding should urge decision-makers to consider delivering in-service training courses to radiology technologists considering the increasing number of casualties and critically ill patients referred to radiology departments.