Radiation protection knowledge of workers exposed to ionizing radiation in medical practice in French-speaking Sub-Saharan Africa

The study aimed to assess the level of knowledge in radiation protection of workers exposed to ionizing radiation in medical settings in French-speaking Sub-Saharan Africa. A cross-sectional survey was carried out at Cotonou in Benin country in May 2019 during the French-speaking Africa radiology meeting (JRANF). Knowledge was evaluated regarding the source of ionizing radiation (IR), the basic principles of radiation protection, the biological effects of IR, the pathological effects of IR, the quantities and units in radiation protection, the radiation protection of patients, pregnancy medical exposure to IR. The Overall Knowledge Score (OKS) was calculated based on the number of correct answers to the 20 questions and classified as "Good", "Average" or "Poor". The links between the worker's professional qualifications and their knowledge in radiation protection was tested. A total of 91 workers were included in the study. The average OKS was 7.9 with extreme values of 2 and 12. The OKS was poor in 93.41% of the survey population and none of the respondents had a good OKS. The OKS of the technicians was two times lower than resident's (P < 0.0001) and three times lower than radiologist's (P < 0.0001).