Assessment of Patient Knowledge Level Towards MRI Safety Before the Scanning in Saudi Arabia

Dhafer M Alahmari; Fahad M Alsahli; Sami A Alghamdi; Othman I Alomair; Abdulrahman Alghamdi; Mohammed J Alsaadi

doi:10.2147/IJGM.S368652

Assessment of Patient Knowledge Level Towards MRI Safety Before the Scanning in Saudi Arabia

Int J Gen Med. 2022 Jul 28:15:6289-6299. doi: 10.2147/IJGM.S368652. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Dhafer M Alahmari¹, Fahad M Alsahli¹, Sami A Alghamdi², Othman I Alomair², Abdulrahman Alghamdi³, Mohammed J Alsaadi⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Medical Imaging, King Saud Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
² Department of Radiological Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
³ Department of Medical Imaging, Aseer Central Hospital, Abha, Saudi Arabia.
⁴ Department of Radiology and Medical Imaging, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University, Al-Kharj, Saudi Arabia.

Abstract

Purpose: Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is an important diagnostic method in modern clinical medicine. Patients' ‎‎knowledge about MRI is of utmost importance for optimizing the workflow, ‎safety, and patient comfort and saving valuable time for the MRI department. This study investigates patient knowledge levels regarding MRI safety before an MRI examination.

Patients and methods: A cross-sectional survey was completed by 200 patients who required MRI. Recruitment occurred over eight weeks in ‎governmental and private hospitals in Saudi ‎Arabia; both hospitals and participants were selected randomly. The ‎questionnaire was given to the patients prior to ‎their MRI scans. Descriptive statistics and chi-square tests were performed to identify relationships between knowledge of MRI safety and selected demographic groupings (age, gender, education level, income level). It also evaluates their source of information and assesses the patient's previous experience regarding MRI scans.‎.

Results: The study sample consisted of 200 patients from 230 surveys distributed in ‎Saudi Arabia, and the response rate was ~ 87%. Depending on the P-values of the chi-square statistical test to find the relationship between ‎socio-demographic factors and patient' knowledge level, the results showed a significant association (p-value=0.006) between age and gender and the level of knowledge relating to MRI safety issues. A similar significance (p-value=0.042) is observed between the knowledge level of patients and their educational level and annual income. In addition, a highly significant association (p-value<0.001) is found between education level or previous experience and whether people seek information about MRI safety.

Conclusion: The study findings suggest that a complex combination of factors affects patient knowledge regarding MRI safety before an MRI examination. Hence, the hospital and radiological department must ‎‎provide the ‎patient with accurate information about MRI.‎.

Keywords: MRI; assessment; environment; knowledge; safety.