




































Asian Review of Environmental 

and Earth Sciences 
ISSN: 2313-8173 
Vol. 3, No. 1, 10-17, 2016 

http://www.asianonlinejournals.com/index.php/AREES 
 

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

10 

 

Radiation Protection Measures in Radio-Diagnostic Centers 

in Gaza Hospitals, Palestine 

 
Samer S. Abu Zer1   

Samir S. Yassin2    

Mohamed R. Al Agha3    

Khalid Jamal Khadoura4
   

1
Radiology Department, Shifa Hospital, Gaza Strip, 

Palestine Occupied. 
2
Physics Department, The Islamic University of Gaza. 

3
Environment and earth science department, The 

Islamic University of  Gaza. 
4
Head Nurse of Internal Medicine Dep., Shifa Hospital, 

Faculty of Nursing, The Islamic University of Gaza, 
Palestine. 
( Corresponding Author) 

 
Abstract 

Whereas radio-diagnostic centers have potential to present hazardous effects due of ionizing radiation. 

Radio-diagnostic workers awareness, practices regarding radiation protection issues, availability of 

radiation protection devices and effective personal radiation exposure monitoring process has an 

important role to safe working in these places. We carried out this study in nine governmental Gaza 

governorates hospitals. The study instrument was close-ended structured questionnaire consists of five 

parts. 182 radio-diagnostic workers participated in the work. Based on the obtained data, the participants 

reported that 35.2% of personal radiation protection devices are available in the radio-diagnostic centers 

at governmental Gaza governorates hospitals. In spite the fact that 74.8% of participants have awareness 

about radiation protection issues, but it is only about 53.4% of participants follows the radiation 

protection practices. There is an obvious poor of personal radiation exposure monitoring process. 

Conclusively, the results represented in this work reflect that majority of participants believe there is no 

radiation safety officer to provide the service. Therefore, there is a desperate need for rules, regulations 

and radiation protection act in the field of radiation in medical field.   
 

Keywords: Radiation protection, Radio-diagnostic, Awareness, Practices. 
 

Contents 
1. Introduction ......................................................................................................................................................................... 11 

2. Objectives ............................................................................................................................................................................. 11 

3. Materials and Methods ........................................................................................................................................................ 11 

4. Results and Discussion ......................................................................................................................................................... 11 

5. Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................................................ 17 

References ................................................................................................................................................................................ 17 

 
Citation | Samer S. Abu Zer; Samir S. Yassin; Mohamed R. Al Agha; Khalid Jamal Khadoura (2016). Radiation Protection 

Measures in Radio-Diagnostic Centers in Gaza Hospitals, Palestine. Asian Review of Environmental and Earth Sciences, 3(1): 

10-16. 

DOI: 10.20448/journal.506/2016.3.1/506.1.10.17         

ISSN | 2313-8173 

 
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License 

Asian Online Journal Publishing Group 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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https://orcid.org/orcid-search/quick-search?searchQuery=Samer S. Abu Zer
https://orcid.org/orcid-search/quick-search?searchQuery=Samir S. Yassin
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https://orcid.org/orcid-search/quick-search?searchQuery=Samer S. Abu Zer
https://orcid.org/orcid-search/quick-search?searchQuery=Samir S. Yassin
https://orcid.org/orcid-search/quick-search?searchQuery=Mohamed R. Al Agha
https://orcid.org/orcid-search/quick-search?searchQuery=Khalid Jamal Khadoura
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https://orcid.org/orcid-search/quick-search?searchQuery=Samer S. Abu Zer
https://orcid.org/orcid-search/quick-search?searchQuery=Samir S. Yassin
https://orcid.org/orcid-search/quick-search?searchQuery=Mohamed R. Al Agha
https://orcid.org/orcid-search/quick-search?searchQuery=Khalid Jamal Khadoura
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https://orcid.org/orcid-search/quick-search?searchQuery=Samer S. Abu Zer
https://orcid.org/orcid-search/quick-search?searchQuery=Samir S. Yassin
https://orcid.org/orcid-search/quick-search?searchQuery=Mohamed R. Al Agha
https://orcid.org/orcid-search/quick-search?searchQuery=Khalid Jamal Khadoura
http://search.crossref.org/?q=10.20448/journal.506/2016.3.1/506.1.10.17
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https://orcid.org/orcid-search/quick-search?searchQuery=Samer S. Abu Zer
https://orcid.org/orcid-search/quick-search?searchQuery=Samir S. Yassin
https://orcid.org/orcid-search/quick-search?searchQuery=Mohamed R. Al Agha
https://orcid.org/orcid-search/quick-search?searchQuery=Khalid Jamal Khadoura
http://search.crossref.org/?q=10.20448/journal.506/2016.3.1/506.1.10.17
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https://orcid.org/orcid-search/quick-search?searchQuery=Samer S. Abu Zer
https://orcid.org/orcid-search/quick-search?searchQuery=Samir S. Yassin
https://orcid.org/orcid-search/quick-search?searchQuery=Mohamed R. Al Agha
https://orcid.org/orcid-search/quick-search?searchQuery=Khalid Jamal Khadoura
http://search.crossref.org/?q=10.20448/journal.506/2016.3.1/506.1.10.17


Asian Review of Environmental and Earth Sciences, 2016, 3(1): 10-17 

 

 

 

 

11 

 

1. Introduction 
Ionizing radiation in medical imaging is one of the powerful diagnostic tools in medicine. Radiation which is 

applied in radiology departments has hazardous effects on biological systems [1, 2]. 

The level of awareness concerning with radiation protection influences in staff behavior. If they have not enough 

information related to mentioned issue, their action will not be safe and resulted to adverse effects [3, 4].  

All of these individuals may be considered radiation workers, depending on their level of exposure and on 

national regulations. All workers require appropriate monitoring continuously by common personnel dosimeters like 

film badge and thermo-luminescence dosimeter. They must also receive education and training appropriate to their 

jobs and protect by tools and equipment [5]. In Gaza governorates hospitals, there is no radiation protection program, 

lack of clear information about radiation protection measures and guidelines. Therefore, the study results will help in 

implementing modification to alleviate risk factors. In addition, to develop an action plan and new management 

strategies for radiation protection enhancements and provide clear information to the decision makers.  

 

2. Objectives  
The main objective of the study is to evaluation of radiation protection measures at governmental Gaza 

governorates hospitals. The other specific objectives are:  

 To identify the availability of radiation protection devices in the radio-diagnostic centers.  

 To measure the level of radio-diagnostic workers awareness about radiation protection issues. 

 To measure the level of radio-diagnostic workers practices about radiation protection issues. 

 To evaluate the personal radiation exposure monitoring process.  

 To help the planners and decision makers to modify the future plans regarding radiation protection to be 

more and to develop radiation safety culture. 

 

3. Materials and Methods 
The present study is a descriptive analytical cross sectional study. We carried out this study in nine governmental 

Gaza governorates hospitals. The target population of this study is the radio-diagnostic workers who have been 

working at radio-diagnostic centers in these hospitals. This estimated approximately 185 medical radiographers and 

45 radiologists. The hospitals were selected because of their large and diverse of their radio-diagnostic services. 

The sample size was calculated by using sample size calculator from the survey system on the web, with 

confidence level of 95% and confidence interval of 5. The calculated sample size was 144 of the 230 radio-

diagnostic workers. We decided to give rise this number to 182 in order to increase the response rate and to 

compensate the uncertainties. The study instrument was face to face interview through close-ended structured 

questionnaire. 

The validity of the questionnaire was tested by six specialists in the fields of radiology, medical physics, public 

health and statistics.  

A pilot study was conducted before starting real data collection. It was served as a pre-test for the questionnaire 

to check the ambiguity in the question statements and the time taken to complete the questionnaire. Twenty radio-

diagnostic workers were chosen to participate in the pilot study. They were selected by the convenience method from 

the hospitals that have been previously identified. Slight modifications were also done on the questionnaire. The 

questionnaire content reliability and internal consistency determined by using Cronbach's Alpha in SPSS.  

 

3.1. The Questionnaire Consists of Five Parts and Includes the Following 
Part one: consisted of eight questions about socio-demographic factors and related work information. This 

includes: age, sex, occupation, academic qualification, years of experience, name of hospital, type of radio-diagnostic 

machines who use it, and daily work hours inside the radio-diagnostic rooms.  

Part two: consisted of ten questions related to the availability of radiation protection devices in the radio-

diagnostic centers. This contains (lead apron, gonad shield, lead curtains, lead shields or barrier, thyroid shields, lead 

glass, lead gloves, breast shields, radiation warning signs and caution lights).  

Part three: consisted of eighteen questions to measure the level of radio-diagnostic workers awareness about 

radiation protection issues. This also gives some information about the general understanding of radiation protection 

issues.  

Part four: consisted of fifteen questions related to describe of radio-diagnostic workers practices about radiation 

protection issues.  

Part five: consisted of six questions to evaluate the personal radiation exposure monitoring process.  

Data checked, coded, entered and analyzed using SPSS 20 (Statistical Package for the Social Science Inc. Chicago, 

Illinois USA, version 20) statistical package.  

 

4. Results and Discussion 
Tale (1), shows 79.1% (n=144) of participants are medical radiographers and 20.9% (n=38) are radiologists.  

Most of radio-diagnostic workers that formulate 82.8%% (n=144) have a bachelor degree. 

There is a wide variation in sex of radio-diagnostic workers, where 76.1% (n=144) of the study participants are 

males and 23.9% (n=43) females. This result indicates that the most of radio-diagnostic workers are males and this is 

attributed to the community culture towards women who working in radiology field and their fear from transmitting 

the risk of radiation to their future generations. 

The study shows that the participants ages were between 30 and 39 years which formulates 46.4% (n=84) of the 

participants, this indicates that the radio-diagnostic population are young labors. 



Asian Review of Environmental and Earth Sciences, 2016, 3(1): 10-17 

 

 

 

 

12 

 

The study population was categorized into four groups according to their practical experience and refers that 

most of the radio-diagnostic workers have sufficient practical experience in radio-diagnostic field. 

Clearly, it is found that the largest number of study participants from Al Shifa Medical Complex, who formulates 

31.3% (n=57) of the study participants. However, the lowest number of study participants from Abdel Aziz Rantessi 

hospital who formulates 4.9% (n=9) of the participants, this result is not a surprise since the participants proportions 

depend on the number of radio-diagnostic workers in each hospital, where Al Shifa Medical Complex is a major one. 

Basic X-ray machines is the most common used, which formulates 83% (n=151) of participants. While 14.8% 

(n=27) of participants used with mammography machines, this result is reasonable because the basic X-ray machines 

are the most prevalent in terms of the number and use in the hospitals. Whereas, the dealing with the mammography 

machines restricted to females workers. 

Most of radio-diagnostic workers that formulate 34.1% (n=60) working between 3 and 4 hours inside the radio-

diagnostic rooms per day, while 27.8% (n=49) of the participants working between 2 and 3 hours per day. 
 

Table-1. Socio-demographic and related work factors of the study participants. 

Item Frequency Percentage 

1. Age   

From 20-29 years 44 24.3% 

From 30-39 years 84 46.4% 

From 40-49 years 38 21% 

More than 50 years 15 8.3% 

2. Sex   

Male 137 76.1% 

Female 43 23.9% 

3. Occupation   

Radiologist 38 20.9% 

Medical radiographer 144 79.1% 

4. Academic qualification   

Diploma 16 9.2% 

Bachelor 144 82.8% 

Higher degree 14 8% 

5. Practical experience   

1-4 years 32 18% 

5-9 years 64 36% 

10-14 years 48 27% 

15-20 years 34 19.1% 

6. Name of hospital   

Abu Yousef Al Najjar hospital 12 6.6% 

European Gaza hospital 16 8.8% 

Nasser medical complex 29 15.9% 

Al Aqsa Martyrs hospital 20 11% 

Al Shifa Medical complex 57 31.3% 

Al Naser pediatric hospital 12 6.6% 

Abdel Aziz Rantessi Martyr 9 4.9% 

Kamal Adwan Martyr hospital 17 9.3% 

Beit Hanoun hospital 10 5.5% 

7. Type of radio-diagnostic machine   

Basic X-ray 151 83% 

CT scan 80 44% 

Fluoroscopy 107 58.8% 

Panorama 44 24.2% 

Mammography 27 14.8% 

Portable X-ray 76 41.8% 

8. Daily work hours in radio-diagnostic rooms   

1-2 hours 21 11.9% 

2-3 hours 49 27.8% 

3-4 hours 60 34.1% 

4-5 hours 32 18.2% 

More than 5 hours 14 8% 

 

The personal radiation protection devices are the principal for radiology workers [6]. A visible warning sign and 

caution light required to alert individuals to radiological conditions [7]. However, according to the participants 

knowledge, it is about 35.2% of personal radiation protection devices are available in the radio-diagnostic centers at 

governmental Gaza governorates hospitals, Table 2. 

As it displays in the figure (4.26), the maximum rate about the availability of personal radiation protection 

devices specified to lead aprons and thyroid shields by 95.6% (n=174) and 75.8% (n=138) respectively. The 

minimum rate that related to the availability of personal radiation protection devices specified to lead curtains, breast 

shields and gonad shields by 5.5% (n=10), 7.1% (n=13) and 15.9% (n=29) respectively.  

 

 

 

 
 



Asian Review of Environmental and Earth Sciences, 2016, 3(1): 10-17 

 

 

 

 

13 

 

Table-2. Participants response about the availability of radiation protection devices. 

Radiation protection 

devices 

Yes(frequency and 

percentage) 

No(frequency and 

percentage) 

Don't know (frequency and 

percentage) 

Lead aprons 174(95.7%) 7(3.8%) 1(0.5%) 

Gonadal shields 29(16%) 142(78%) 11(6%) 

Lead curtains 10(5.5%) 135(74.2%) 37(20.3%) 

Lead shields / barriers 73(40.2%) 92(50.5%) 17(9.3%) 

Thyroid shields 138(75.9%) 41(22.5%) 3(1.6%) 

Lead glass 76(41.8%) 98(53.8%) 8(4.4%) 

Lead gloves 38(20.9%) 134(73.6%) 10(5.5%) 

Breast shields 13(7.1%) 155(85.2%) 14(7.7%) 

Radiation warning signs 41(22.5%) 132(72.5%) 9(5%) 

Caution lights 48(26.4%) 122(67%) 12(6.6%) 

Average 35.2% 58.1% 6.7% 
 

As shown in Figure1 in spite the fact that 74.8% of participants have awareness about radiation protection issues, 

but it is only about 53.4% of participants follows the radiation protection practices. This result is surprising and 

alarming. Clearly it seems unsatisfactory and indicates that the approximately half of participants have negative 

practices toward radiation protection issues. 

 

 
Figure-1. Study participant awareness and practices level regarding radiation protection issues. 

 

Table 3 shows that the radiation protection advisers are not available in the most of radio-diagnostic centers that 

surveyed. About 60.4% (n=111) of study participants have a personal radiation exposure monitoring device. 

Approximately  55% (n=61) of participants who have personal radiation exposure monitoring device use this device 

during their work in radio-diagnostic rooms, while 31.5% (n=35) of participants sometimes use this device and 

13.5% (n=15) of participants don’t use this device during their work in radio-diagnostic rooms. 

The most of participants who have a dosimeter don't receive guidance about the proper handling with the 

personal radiation exposure monitoring devices, this represents about 75.7% (n=84) of participants. There are a big 

problem in personal radiation exposure monitoring process, majority of the participants 64.9% (n=72) believe that 

the measurements results doesn’t take into consideration by the safety officers. There is no one of radio-diagnostic 

workers receive a new personal radiation exposure monitoring device when the devices collect to measure of 

radiation dose. 

 
Table-3. Responses of study participants to evaluation the personal radiation exposure monitoring processitems 

Items Frequency and percentage 

1. Does the hospital have Radiation Protection Adviser (RPA)? 

Yes 8(4.4%) 

No 174(95.6%) 

2. Does the hospital provide you with any  personal  radiation 

monitoring device? 

 

Yes 111(60.4%) 

No 71(39.6%) 

3. If yes, do you use it during your work in the radio-diagnostic rooms? 

Yes 61(55%) 

Sometimes 35(31.5%) 

No 15(13.5%) 

4. Did you receive a guidance about the proper handling with the  personal  radiation monitoring device? 

Yes 27(24.3%) 

No 84(75.7%) 

5. Are the measurements results taken into consideration by the safety officers? 

Yes 39(35.1%) 

No 72(64.9%) 

6. Do you receive another personal  radiation monitoring device when the device collect to measure of radiation dose? 

Yes 0(0%) 

No 111(100%) 

 

As shown in Figure (2) there are a miscellaneous reasons advanced by the study participants about the 

negligence in personal radiation exposure monitoring process. Majority of participants 64.9% (n=63) believe that 

there is no radiation safety officer to provide the service. While about 57.7% (n=56) believe that another reason was 



Asian Review of Environmental and Earth Sciences, 2016, 3(1): 10-17 

 

 

 

 

14 

 

put forward by the participants. This is due to the carelessly of hospital management, that represent about 57.7% 

(n=56). Another opinion reports that there is lack of fund to purchase these devices and this represents about 32.0% 

(n=31). Finally, 24.7% (n=24) of participants believe that the radio-diagnostic workers do not request the dosimeters. 

 

 
Figure-2. Participants response about the reasons for lack of personal radiation exposure monitoring devices. 

 

The independent samples t-test, frequency, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), mean and the standard 

deviation were carried out and developed in order to identify the relationship between the level of availability the 

personal radiation protection devices, awareness and practices regarding radiation protection issues and evaluation of 

personal radiation exposure monitoring process as a dependent variables. However, the socio-demographic and work 

related factors for workers as independent variables. 

According to one-way variance (ANOVA) analysis, (P value=0.003), the results in Table 4 reflect there is a 

difference in the practices mean among the radio-diagnostic workers according to their age groups. The highest mean 

value (72) was for age group more than 50 years, while the lowest mean value (49.05) was for age group between 30 

and 39 years. Clearly that the calculated p-value is less than the significant level which is equal 0.05 (p-value < 

0.05).So, the alternative hypothesis that there is statistically significant relationship between the participants practices 

regarding radiation protection and their age groups is accepted. 

Clearly that there is a statistically significant difference according to the participants age groups (p-value=0.037), 

this difference is highest among radio-diagnostic workers with age groups more than 50 years, with mean value 

(41.11). The lowest mean (23.11) is among age group between 20 and 29 years. This is logical result and reflects that 

the new employees are not included in the personal radiation exposure monitoring process. 

 
Table-4. The dependent variables according  to participants age groups 

Items Age  No. Mean Std. F Sig. 

Availability of 

devices 

From 20-29 years 44 40.00 21.67 

2.024 

 

0.112 

 

From 30-39 years 84 34.29 19.59 

From 40-49 years 38 30.26 15.85 

More than 50 years     15 39.33 18.31 

Awareness 

From 20-29 years 44 73.61 14.68 

2.18 

 

0.092 

 

From 30-39 years 84 74.07 14.26 

From 40-49 years 38 74.42 14.47 
More than 50 years     15 83.70 9.73 

Practices 

From 20-29 years 44 53.03 21.23 

4.721 

 

0.003 

 

From 30-39 years 84 49.05 21.45 

From 40-49 years 38 55.44 25.66 

More than 50 years     15 72.00 18.55 

Radiation 

monitoring 

From 20-29 years 44 23.11 26.22 

2.879 

 

0.037 

 

From 30-39 years 84 33.93 25.67 

From 40-49 years 38 25.00 26.78 

More than 50 years     15 41.11 33.85 

 

The results in Table 5 shows that there are no statistically significant differences the dependent variables due to 

participants sex. 

 
Table-5. The dependent variables according to participants sex 

Items Sex No. Mean Std. t Sig. 

Availability of 

devices 

Male 137 34.67 18.87 -0.474 

 

0.636 

 Female 43 36.28 21.05 

Awareness 
Male 137 74.53 14.72 -0.266 

 

0.791 

 Female 43 75.19 12.32 

Practices 
Male 137 52.99 23.25 -0.047 

 

0.963 

 Female 43 53.18 21.01 

Radiation 

monitoring 

Male 137 29.56 27.34 -0.548 

 

0.584 

 Female 43 32.17 26.82 

 

According to one-way variance (ANOVA) analysis in Table 6 (p-value=0.029).There is a statistically 

significant relationship between radio-diagnostic workers awareness toward radiation protection issues due to their 



Asian Review of Environmental and Earth Sciences, 2016, 3(1): 10-17 

 

 

 

 

15 

 

occupation. There are a highly statistically significant differencesbetween the radio-diagnostic workers evaluation 

regarding personal radiation exposure monitoring process and their occupation (p-value=0.000). 

 
Table-6. The dependent variables according to participants occupation 

Items Occupation No. Mean Std. t Sig. 

Availability of 

devices 

Radiologist  38 32.63 17.96 -0.902 

 

0.368 

 Medical radiographer 144 35.83 19.84 

Awareness 
Radiologist  38 70.32 15.30 -2.199 

 

0.029 

 Medical radiographer 144 75.96 13.73 

Practices 
Radiologist  38 48.07 25.94 -1.635 

 

0.104 

 Medical radiographer 144 54.86 21.89 

Radiation 

monitoring 

Radiologist 38 8.77 16.32 -5.952 

 

0.000 

 Medical radiographer 144 35.88 26.76 

 

Clearly in Table 7 that there is a statistically significant difference in the radio-diagnostic workers practices 

according to their academic qualification (p-value=0.008). This result may be attributed to the quality of education 

materials and curriculum given to the three different groups.  

There is statistically significant difference between the evaluation regarding personal radiation exposure 

monitoring process among radio-diagnostic workers and their academic qualifications (p-value=0.013). 

As shown in Table 8 there is a statistically significant difference in the radio-diagnostic workers awareness level 

due to their years of practical experience (p-value=0.017). 

There is a highly statistically significant difference in the radio-diagnostic practices due to their practical 

experience years (p-value=0.000). 

 
Table-7. The dependent variables according to participants academic qualification 

Items Education No. Mean Std. F Sig. 

Availability of 

devices 

Diploma 16 31.25 19.28 
0.435 

 

0.648 

 
B.Sc. 144 36.11 20.11 

Higher degree 14 35.71 16.51 

Awareness 

Diploma 16 78.13 10.44 
0.462 

 

0.631 

 
B.Sc. 144 74.50 14.68 

Higher degree 14 75.00 14.25 

Practices 

Diploma 16 70.42 19.62 
4.967 

 

0.008 

 
B.Sc. 144 52.04 22.32 

Higher degree 14 55.24 23.45 

Radiation 

monitoring 

Diploma 16 47.92 27.13 
4.433 

 

0.013 

 
B.Sc. 144 30.09 26.76 

Higher degree 14 20.24 25.47 

 

This result may be attributed to long-term of occupational radiation doses for those who have more than 20 years 

of work. So, this group of radio-diagnostic workers has become more concerned about the health impacts from 

radiation exposures than those who have less period of experience. Hence, they applied the protection procedures 

more carefully to decrease the probability of radiation risks on their health. 

There are a highly statistically significant differences in the evaluation of personal radiation exposure monitoring 

process due to their practical experience years (p-value=0.000).  

 
Table-8. The dependent variables according to participants practical experience 

Items Experience No. Mean Std. F Sig. 

Availability of 

devices 

From 1-4  years 32 39.06 24.14 

1.261 

 

 

0.287 

 

 

From 5-9 years 64 35.31 19.92 

From 10-14  years 48 30.83 15.96 

From 15-19  years 19 39.47 17.79 

More than 20 years 15 32.00 16.56 

Awareness 

From 1-4  years 32 78.99 12.91 

3.088 

 

 

0.017 

 

 

From 5-9 years 64 71.09 14.21 

From 10-14  years 48 73.61 14.24 

From 15-19  years 19 78.07 13.67 

More than 20 years 15 81.48 13.55 

Practices 

From 1-4  years 32 53.13 18.97 

7.493 

 

 

0.000 

 

 

From 5-9 years 64 47.19 22.04 

From 10-14  years 48 49.72 22.04 

From 15-19  years 19 67.02 22.50 

More than 20 years 15 75.11 19.76 

Radiation 

monitoring 

From 1-4  years 32 13.54 20.93 

5.414 

 

 

0.000 

 

 

From 5-9 years 64 32.29 25.70 

From 10-14  years 48 30.21 25.65 

From 15-19  years 19 33.33 31.43 

More than 20 years 15 48.89 29.86 

 



Asian Review of Environmental and Earth Sciences, 2016, 3(1): 10-17 

 

 

 

 

16 

 

As shown in Table 9 there are highly statistically significant differences in the participants evaluation of 

availability of radiation protection devices(p-value=0.000), participants awareness (p-value=0.028) and participants 

practices (p-value=0.001) due to their hospitals. 

 
Table-9. The dependent variables according to participants hospitals 

Items Hospital No. Mean Std. F Sig. 

Availability of 

devices 

European Gaza hospital 16 31.25 10.25 

8.337 

 

0.000 

 

Nasser Medical Complex 29 43.45 20.58 

Abu Yousef Al Najjar hospital 12 22.50 6.22 

Al Aqsa Martyrs hospital 20 34.00 11.42 

Al Shifa Medical Complex 57 38.77 19.28 

Abdel Aziz Rantessi hospital 9 63.33 11.18 

Al Naser hospital 12 31.67 23.29 

Kamal Adwan hospital 17 22.35 16.78 

Beit Hanoun hospital 10 15.00 9.72 

Awareness 

European Gaza hospital 16 70.83 15.52 

2.221 

 

0.028 

 

Nasser Medical Complex 29 71.26 13.03 

Abu Yousef Al Najjar  hospital 12 70.37 17.14 

Al Aqsa Martyrs hospital 20 74.17 16.74 

Al Shifa Medical Complex 57 78.36 12.93 

Abdel Aziz Rantessi hospital 9 69.14 14.46 

Al Naser  hospital 12 85.65 14.88 

Kamal Adwan hospital 17 73.53 8.68 

Beit Hanoun hospital 10 71.67 13.21 

Practices 

European Gaza hospital 16 43.33 26.22 

3.484 

 

0.001 

 

Nasser Medical Complex 29 42.76 21.49 

Abu Yousef Al Najjar  hospital 12 56.11 16.69 

Al Aqsa Martyrs hospital 20 42.00 25.05 

Al Shifa Medical Complex 57 59.53 21.19 

Abdel Aziz Rantessi hospital 9 54.81 22.80 

Al Naser  hospital 12 67.22 13.77 

Kamal Adwan hospital 17 56.08 19.73 

Beit Hanoun hospital 10 63.33 25.39 

Radiation 

monitoring 

European Gaza hospital 16 25.0 21.08 

1.58 

 

0.134 

 

Nasser Medical Complex 29 24.71 28.74 

Abu Yousef Al Najjar  hospital 12 45.83 18.97 

Al Aqsa Martyrs hospital 20 27.50 26.64 

Al Shifa Medical Complex 57 26.90 28.65 

Abdel Aziz Rantessi hospital 9 42.59 22.22 

Al Naser  hospital 12 38.89 32.05 

Kamal Adwan hospital 17 27.45 25.65 

Beit Hanoun hospital 10 43.33 26.29 

 

Clearly in Table 10 that there is a statistically significant difference in the radio-diagnostic workers practices 

according to their daily work hours (p-value=0.008). This difference is high among radio-diagnostic workers who 

work more than 5 hours (67.1), the lowest is among radio-diagnostic workers who work between 2 and 4 hours 

(46.7).  

 
Table-10. The dependent variables  according to participants daily work hours in radio-diagnostic rooms 

Items Daily work hours No. Mean Std. F Sig. 

Availability of 

devices 

From 1-2 hours 21 32.4 21.2 

0.504 

 

0.733 

 

From 2-3 hours 49 36.9 22.7 

From 2-4 hours 60 36.0 18.5 

From 4-5 hours 32 33.1 17.5 

More than 5 hours 14 40.0 15.2 

Awareness 

From 1-2 hours 21 74.6 13.6 

1.928 

 

0.108 

 

From 2-3 hours 49 73.7 15.9 

From 2-4 hours 60 72.3 14.8 

From 4-5 hours 32 80.7 11.3 

More than 5 hours 14 75.0 11.9 

 

Practices 

From 1-2 hours 21 56.2 20.5 

4.192 

 

0.003 

 

From 2-3 hours 49 52.9 21.9 

From 2-4 hours 60 46.7 21.7 

From 4-5 hours 32 62.3 22.8 

More than 5 hours 14 67.1 21.8 

Radiation 

monitoring 

From 1-2 hours 21 31.0 29.5 

1.002 

 

0.408 

 

From 2-3 hours 49 32.7 26.1 

From 2-4 hours 60 25.6 27.7 

From 4-5 hours 32 35.9 28.4 

More than 5 hours 14 25.0 25.9 

 



Asian Review of Environmental and Earth Sciences, 2016, 3(1): 10-17 

 

 

 

 

17 

 

5. Conclusion 
A descriptive analytical cross sectional study, based on the analysis of data collected by a close-ended structured 

questionnaire consists of five parts which designed for matching the study needs and 182 radio-diagnostic workers 

participated in the work. We conducted the independent samples t-test, frequency and one-way analysis of variance 

(ANOVA). These tests detect the difference between the availability of personal radiation protection devices, 

awareness and practices level regarding radiation protection issues and evaluation of personal radiation exposure 

monitoring process as a dependent variables. However, the socio-demographic and work related factors among radio-

diagnostic workers are independent variables. 

According to the results displayed in chapter four, the participants reported that 35.2% of personal radiation 

protection devices are available in the radio-diagnostic centers at governmental Gaza governorates hospitals.  

The results indicate unsatisfactory practices toward radiation protection issues, where approximately half of 

participants have negative practices. In general, the results revealed that there is an obvious poor of personal 

radiation exposure monitoring process. There is also a statistically significant difference in the participants awareness 

level due to their years of practical experience and occupation. 

Overall, the results represented in this work reflect that majority of participants believe there is no radiation 

safety officer to provide the service. Therefore, there is a desperate need for rules, regulations and radiation 

protection act in the field of radiation in medical field. 

 

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