Prospective Health Professionals’ Knowledge, Awareness, Attitude, and Practice Concerning MRI Safety

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has been applied widely in clinical practices to acquire cross-sectional images of the body. Although MRI uses non-ionizing radiation, there are serious bioeffect hazards that can be associated with the use of strong electromagnetic fields (EMFs).

This study aims to explore prospective health professionals’ knowledge, awareness, attitude, and practice levels concerning MRI safety.

This cross-sectional study was conducted on medical and allied medical students at Taibah University using an online questionnaire survey. Data were reported using descriptive statistics and Chi-squared tests to determine the differences based on selected demographic variables.

120 Prospective healthcare professionals completed the questionnaire. In the knowledge domain, 50% of participants agreed that patients with tattoos could be scanned. In the awareness domain, roughly 40% of participants reported being unaware of the new compatible pacemakers. In the attitude domain, less than 50% of participants were interested in attending MRI safety seminars. Only one significant borderline finding was identified concerning the awareness level between genders (P=0.053).

This study showed that the knowledge level of MRI safety among prospective health professionals is within the acceptable level and also showed a high level of awareness and a moderately positive attitude regarding MRI safety. The results of this study are helpful for higher education institutions which will enable them to modify their curriculum content to fill the knowledge gaps in this area.