Awareness of Radiological Accidents and How to Deal with It: A Study of Nurses and Nursing Faculties of Isfahan University of Medical Sciences

Introduction: Along with peaceful uses of ionizing radiation, its destructive applications have always threatened human life. One of the most important actions in calamities and disasters especially radiological and nuclear catastrophes is immediate assistance and medical care for victims. Therefore, knowing how to cope with nuclear and radiological disasters has become a part of modern care education nowadays. The purpose of this work is to study awareness of nursing faculty members and nurses in hospitals affiliated to Isfahan University of Medical Sciences about radiological accidents and how to deal with it. Methods: In this descriptive cross-sectional study, we investigated the awareness of nursing faculties and nursing personnel (n=124) in three health care centers using a researcher-made questionnaire. After data collection, it was analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results: According to the findings, 80.5 percent of subjects were female and 19.5 percent were male. The average age of subjects was 35.78±8.74 years. The majority of subjects in selected hospitals had bachelor's degree. Participants’ awareness was 68.29% for monitoring radiation equipments, 52.5% for decontamination radioactive materials in hospital, 52.1% for familiarity with certain therapeutic protocols for treating nuclear victims, 57% for self-protection methods in terms of a nuclear accident, and 47.5% for specific protocols for reporting nuclear radiation damages. Conclusion: With regard to the findings of this study and the importance of nurse’s knowledge of caring and treating victims of radiological accidents, it necessary to include related contents in nursing curriculum and continuing education programs.