Assessing Knowledge and Preparedness of Medical Staff toward Potential Nuclear Injuries: a Cross-Sectional Study in Arak, Iran-2015

The use of nuclear technology in various industrial, medical, and basic science fields has been expanded over recent years. Since the Possibility of nuclear accidents and injuries is an inevitable fact, this study aimed to assess the knowledge and preparedness of the medical staff at teaching hospitals in the city of Arak, Iran, toward potential nuclear injuries.
This cross-sectional descriptive study was carried out in 2015 to assess the knowledge and preparedness of 700 medical staff at the teaching hospitals in the city of Arak, Iran, toward potential nuclear injuries and their diagnosis and treatment. Based on the protocols of International Atomic Energy Agency and World Health Organization, two separate questionnaires for physicians and nurses were devised and provided to them after verifying their validity and reliability. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS16.
A total of 630 nurses and 70 physicians participated in this study. The results showed that 50.8% of the participants had a basic knowledge of nuclear accidents and 45.6% of them had no information in this regard. More than 67.1% of the physicians and 77.6% of the nurses admitted that they knew nothing about the protocols for decontamination and treatment of nuclear injuries.
In this study, the preparedness of the hospitals and knowledge of the nurses and physicians were evaluated as poor. Since this project was conducted with experts, the results are striking. Therefore, considering the development of peaceful uses of nuclear technology and its localization in Iran, the authorities should pay special attention to this issue and take quick and serious measures and strategies to enhance knowledge and performance of medical staff