Knowledge of magnetic resonance safety measures among nursing and housekeeping staff in a tertiary care hospital.

Abstract

With the increase of use of MRI in the recent times due to its advantages, there has been an increase in the disastrous effects of MRI due to its magnetic field present in vicinity. The accidents due to magnetic field have been on the rise and are generally due to lack of knowledge of the staffs, mainly the housekeeping staffs shifting the patients for MRI and the nursing staffs preparing the patient having implants. This work is done to evaluate the knowledge of ward nursing staffs and the housekeeping staffs regarding the MRI safety measures, so that these accidents can be avoided at the root level.  A total of 100 ward nurses and 45 housekeeping staffs in the radiology zone were evaluated using a self- administered closed-ended polar questionnaire, validated by 3 subject experts. The frequency of answers to each question was calculated using SPSS software and the whole population was also evaluated, based on correct answers, and categorized according to scores. The overall population of both housekeeping and nursing staffs showed average results, but focused on the response to individual questions, lack of knowledge regarding the safety measures of MRI were found. The study concluded that there found a strong need for educating the housekeeping staffs and the nursing staff regarding MR safety, so that these incidents can be avoided at the root level.