Assessment of the level of knowledge of Physicians in Bushehr Province about preparedness and response for Nuclear Emergency

Responses to recent incidents involving radiation indicate that most general practitioners are uncertain about the health consequences of exposure to ionizing radiation and the medical management of exposed patients. Acute radiation syndrome is an acute illness caused by irradiation of the entire body by a high dose of penetrating radiation in a very short period of time. In order to assess the level of knowledge of physicians in Bushehr province about preparedness and response for nuclear emergency, we used a questionnaire based on IAEA-WHO protocol. A total of 233 doctors (47 of specialist and 186 of general practitioners) participated in a cross-sectional study. The mean of score for doctors was 3.99 (from 13) 3.7 score for general practitioners and 4.28 scores for specialists. Overall, the doctors did not gain the acceptable scores in subjects like physics of radiation, diagnosis and management of acute radiation syndrome, triage and management of nuclear accidents. In conclusion, the level of doctors’ knowledge in Bushehr province about preparedness and response to nuclear or radiological emergency is deficient. Therefore, medical education and postgraduate training programs for doctors should be designed.