Knowledge- and Experience-Based Perceptions of Radiation Therapists during the COVID-19 Outbreak

Abstract

Objective: To assess the perceived risks and impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on radiation therapists in Saudi Arabia. Methods: A questionnaire was distributed to all radiation therapists in the country. The questionnaire contained questions about demographic characteristics, the extent of the pandemic’s impact on hospital resources, risk perception, work-life, leadership, and immediate supervision. The questionnaire’s reliability was assessed using Cronbach’s alpha; >0.7 was considered adequate. Results: Out of the 127 registered radiation therapists, 77 (60.6%) responded; 49 (63.6%) females; and 28 (36.4%) males. The mean age was 36.8 ± 12.5 years. Nine (12%) of the participants had a past experience with pandemics or epidemics. Further, 46 (59.7%) respondents correctly identified the mode of transmission of COVID-19. Approximately, 69% of the respondents perceived COVID-19 as more than a minor risk to their families and 63% to themselves. COVID-19 had an overall negative impact on work at the personal and organizational levels. However, there was a positive attitude toward organizational management during the pandemic in general; positive responses ranged from 66.2% to 82.4%. Ninety-two percent considered protective resources and 70% considered the availability of supportive staff to be adequate. Demographic characteristics were not significantly associated with the perceived risk. Conclusions: Despite the high perception of risk and negative impact on their work, radiation therapists conveyed a positive overall perception regarding resource availability, supervision, and leadership. Efforts should be made to improve their knowledge and appreciate their efforts.

Keywords:

• Radiation therapists
• COVID 19
• perceptions
• knowledge
• outbreak
• medical personnel

Availability of Data and Material

For copy right/licensing agreement with Mind Garden (Copyright © 2020 Michael P. Leiter. All rights are reserved for all media. Published by Mind Garden, Inc., www.mindgarden.com), data supporting our findings but not the full survey, is available upon request.

Competing I nterest

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Authors’ Contributions

Rolina Al-Wassia: manuscript writing; Ayah Mouais: data collection; Mai Kadi, MD: statistical analysis; Nada J Farsi: statistical analyses, results interpretation, critical revision of whole manuscript; Rania Hashem: preparing IRB, study design, manuscript review; Nesreen Awad, MD: manuscript writing; Huda M. Altoukhi: manuscript writing and submission; Yasir Bahadur: manuscript writing; Mohammad Attar: data collection; Omar Iskanderani: manuscript writing; Hussam Hijazi: results interpretation; Zayd Jastaniah: manuscript writing; Hatim Almarzouki: results interpretation; Reem Ujaimi: study design, data collection, results interpretation, manuscript writing.

Additional information

Funding

This research did not receive any grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.