G . Rincón et al .: Radioprotection 2024 , 59 ( 3 ), 173 – 183 179
Fig . 5 . Equipment and technology use . The second row ( yellow boxes ) provides details of participants daily work . The third row ( grey colour ) refers to actions taken by participant in the patient ’ s presence . The fourth row ( blue boxes ) corresponds to the results and the fifth row ( orange colour ) to exposure to physical risk .
3.4 Preventive measures against occupational risk
The questions associated with this chapter and that delimited this category are :
What is your opinion about the equipment you use ? ( i . e ., equipment performance quality , functionality , reliability , safety ).
About the facilities ? ( e . g ., leaded walls , concrete , shielding , surveillance , Geiger meters ).
What do you know about the maintenance of equipment and areas ?
What actions does the entity take in the event of equipment breakdowns , or how do they avoid them ? Are there periodic visits from control entities , do they have radiation protection certification ( virtual / in-person )?
Do you know the damage correction and prevention processes for this equipment ? ( e . g ., corrective / preventive , periodicity ).
How often and how is the equipment cleaned ? ( e . g ., carried out by the technician , technologist , doctor , general services ). Figure 4 represents the structure provided by the data .
The comparison between what was described by the participants and what was normatively suggested required flexibility and sensitivity to ‘ recognise ’ what happens during the inquiry , and critical thinking was applied in the analysis to construct the category . Risk prevention measures are related to the principles of radioprotection and basic measures in radiology .
To improve preventive measures against occupational risk , activities associated with radiological protection were mentioned by the participants , as commented by Ana : ‘ Exposure : distance , time , and shielding ’. Raul : ‘ I learned it during four semesters at university ’. Ana : ‘ The inverted square !’. Raul : ‘ The skirt , the screen , the distance ...’. Distance is one of the best radio protection methods and the most commonly used in routine work ; it is an effective way of protection and is also the most economical . When a participant moves away from a radioactive source it is expected that less radiation is received , and if the distance is doubled , half the radiation would be received .