Search

Background: Moral distress has been an issue under consideration in healthcare practice. The COVID-19 pandemic became a critical factor that contributed to heightened moral distress and injury among healthcare professionals, including radiographers. Despite the substantial engagement of radiographers in the management of COVID-19 patients, the consequent moral distress and injury states experienced by this critical frontline workforce have not been widely explored. This study investigated the level of moral distress and the coping mechanisms employed by radiographers in Ghana during the pandemic to provide valuable information to support radiographers and prepare the workforce better against any future pandemics., Methods: Utilising a cross-sectional design, a survey approach was employed for data collection between June 2023 and August 2023 from clinically-active radiographers who worked before and during the pandemic in Ghana. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were generated using Microsoft Excel 2019 and the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (v.26)., Results: Hundred (100) radiographers participated in the study. The result demonstrated that the COVID-19 pandemic escalated the risk of moral distress among radiographers from 22 % (n = 22) to 43 % (n = 43), with 33 % (n = 33) exhibiting signs of moral injury. This escalation impacted the mental health of 12 % (n = 12) of respondents and was reported as a contributor to career-changing decisions among radiographers. Notably, many of those affected did not seek formal support but relied on personal coping strategies and family support. Inadequate resources (69 %, n = 69), particularly regarding consumables, emerged as the primary cause of moral distress. The study underscored that the most effective means of mitigating moral distress in radiographers was through the provision of resources and additional staff support (66 %, n = 66)., Conclusion: This study sheds light on the state of moral distress and injury among radiographers during the COVID-19 pandemic, impacting the mental health of a minority and contributing to career-changing decisions. The findings emphasise the importance for healthcare institutions to proactively implement systems, such as resource provision, improved staffing, and emotional support, now and during similar future pandemics. This is crucial to address moral distress and cater to the mental health needs of radiographers, ensuring a resilient clinical radiography workforce., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Introduction: Travel restrictions implemented during the acute phases of the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted supply chain for critical radiology consumables including contrast media (CM) leading to shortages. Consequently, some departments had to restructure their clinical workflows in accordance to recommended guidelines to ensure safe continuity of patient care. This study aimed to summarise the temporary crisis-driven recommendations with implicit environmental sustainability essence and to analyse how these measures might inform the development of a more sustainable, long-term clinical guideline for safer and cost-effective CM usage without compromising diagnostic quality., Methods: Documents were obtained through an electronic database search together with a relevant manual search in Google Scholar and relevant reference lists. The selected documents were subjected to a pre-defined eligibility criteria for inclusion. The READ approach was employed for document analysis and a thematic analysis of the obtained data was conducted., Results: Of the 17 documents included, 70% (n = 12) emanate from the United States of America. The summary of the findings relate to minimising CM usage through strategic clinical approaches including optimisation of CM volumes, prioritisation of non-contrast imaging and/or alternative imaging depending on patient need without compromising diagnostic quality., Conclusion: Critical lessons of sustainability essence are implicitly embedded in the policy guidelines issued during the periods of acute CM shortage in the COVID-19 pandemic. These lessons were themed around CM conservation based on: type and priority of medical imaging investigation, kind of imaging modality and use of smaller vials over multi-dose vials packaging., Implications for Practice: The temporary crisis-driven strategies may offer critical lessons for post-pandemic service delivery to enhance patient safety while saving cost and promoting greener practice via strategic clinical and operational monitoring of CM through policy renewal, education and training and collaboration with industry partners., Competing Interests: Conflict of interest statement All authors have no conflicts of interests to declare. Of note, TNA is a member of the editorial board but was blinded to the decision-making process., (Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Purpose: This systematic review is aimed at synthesising the literature base to date on the frequency and topographical distribution of neuroanatomical changes seen on imaging following COVID-19 invasion with a focus on both the acute and chronic phases of the disease., Methods: In this study, 8 databases were systematically searched to identify relevant articles published from December 2019 to March 2022 and supplemented with a manual reference search. Data were extracted from the included studies and narrative synthesis was employed to integrate the findings., Results: A total of 110 studies met the inclusion criteria and comprised 119,307 participants (including 31,073 acute and 143 long COVID-19 patients manifesting neurological alterations) and controls. Considerable variability in both the localisation and nature of neuroanatomical abnormalities are noted along the continuum with a wide range of neuropathologies relating to the cerebrovascular/neurovascular system, (sub)cortical structures (including deep grey and white matter structures), brainstem, and predominant regional and/or global alterations in the cerebellum with varying degrees of spinal involvement., Conclusion: Structural regional alterations on neuroimaging are frequently demonstrated in both the acute and chronic phases of SARS-CoV‑2 infection, particularly prevalent across subcortical, prefrontal/frontal and cortico-limbic brain areas as well as the cerebrovascular/neurovascular system. These findings contribute to our understanding of the acute and chronic effects of the virus on the nervous system and has the potential to provide information on acute and long-term treatment and neurorehabilitation decisions., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Introduction: The sudden onset of the COVID-19 pandemic has brought significant and rapid changes to the traditional ways of providing radiography education, including adaptations to teaching and learning styles as well as disruptions to students' clinical placement. This review explored the impact of the pandemic on clinical radiography education globally., Methods: A systematic literature search was conducted on relevant databases, including PubMed, Science Direct, CINAHL (Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature, and SCOPUS. All relevant articles were critically appraised for quality and subjected to information extraction and results-based convergent synthesis., Results: A total of 17 articles met the inclusion and exclusion criteria for this review. The key findings are themed around challenges and benefits with the introduction of new teaching and learning approaches and resilience exhibited by students during the pandemic to overcome: inadequate support and mentorship while transitioning to fully qualified professionals, challenges with PPE usage, and impact on personal and academic life., Conclusions: Globally, radiography students experienced several challenges, especially during the initial acute phase of the pandemic. The pandemic-related challenges identified in this review could negatively influence the radiography student attrition rates, consequently worsening the existing radiography workforce shortage. Thus, urgent institutional level support systems and interventions would be necessary to mitigate the pandemic impact and improve the students' learning experience., (Copyright © 2022. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Introduction: Vaccination is a key global strategy to mitigate the clinical impact of the COVID-19 virus. As part of local efforts to manage the outbreak, the government of Ghana announced its intention to vaccinate its population starting with essential and high-risk workers including radiographers. However, there were reports of hesitance to receiving the vaccine among the radiography workforce. This study was undertaken prior to the intended vaccination exercise to assess the willingness and concerns of radiographers to undergo the COVID-19 vaccination and to suggest recommendations to improve the vaccine uptake., Methods: An ethically-approved online survey strategy was employed for this cross-sectional study conducted between 24th-28th February 2021. The survey employed quantitative questions and open text response options. Quantitative and open text responses were analysed using statistical and thematic analyses, respectively., Results: There were 108 responses (response rate of 46.3%). The majority (n = 64, 59.3%) were willing to have the vaccine, however, some (n = 44, 40.7%) were not. The main reason behind their willingness to have the vaccine was its ability to reduce the spread of infections and lower mortality (n = 35, 54.7%). However, doubts about the vaccine's efficacy and side effects (n = 26, 56.8%), conspiracy theory concerns about its effects on the Ghanaian race (n = 4, 9.1%), and fertility concerns (n = 2, 4.5%) were some reasons for their hesitance to receive the vaccine. The open text commentary further revealed that the vaccine was thought of as a lifesaving medication, however, clinical safety concerns, lack of education/information and religious beliefs were affecting peoples' willingness to be vaccinated., Conclusion: Our findings demonstrate the need for an urgent public health educational intervention to address the COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy concerns raised by radiographers to help increase the vaccine uptake., Implication for Practice: The study provides pertinent information to improve COVID-19 vaccine uptake among radiographers to limit the spread of infections., Competing Interests: Conflict of interest statement None., (Copyright © 2021 The College of Radiographers. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic has had significant impact on clinical radiography educational activities including teaching, research, and clinical placement. The study aimed to investigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on clinical radiography education in a low-resource setting from the perspectives of students and educators., Methods: A cross-sectional online survey was conducted between December 2020 and March 2021. Participants included student radiographers and educators from six clinical radiography training institutions in Ghana. Conventional descriptive statistics, frequency, and thematic text analysis were undertaken., Results: 291 valid responses were received involving 277 students and 14 educators. Most of the respondents, predominantly students did not find the online platforms for learning user-friendly. Key challenges to clinical radiography training during the pandemic included poor internet connectivity (73.8%), inadequate time for academic discussions (50.9%), and the reluctance of health facilities to accept students for clinical placement (51%). Challenges with data collection and the provision of supervision were issues associated with research activities., Discussion: The findings suggest the COVID-19 pandemic has had significant impact on clinical radiography education in Ghana and other countries of similar resource availability., Conclusion: Clinical radiography training institutions need to customize approaches to education. Adopting blended learning approaches as well as the use of simulation to augment practical placement opportunities are new modes of instruction that will maximize learning experience., (Copyright © 2021. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Introduction: Worldwide, reports and experiences indicate that there has been extensive re-organisation within diagnostic imaging and radiotherapy departments in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This was necessary due to changes in workload and working practice guidelines that have evolved during the pandemic. This review provides a comprehensive summary of the global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on radiography practice, service delivery and workforce wellbeing., Methods: A systematic review methodology was adopted to obtain data from primary studies of qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods designs from databases (PubMed, Science Direct, Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature [CINAHL], and SCOPUS: all 2020 to present). The included articles were subjected to information extraction and results-based convergent synthesis., Results: The electronic database search yielded 10,420 articles after removal of duplicates. Of these, 31 articles met the final inclusion criteria with some (n = 8) fully focussed on radiotherapy workforce and service delivery. The pandemic impact on radiography practice is broadly themed around: training, communication, and information dissemination; infrastructure, technology, and clinical workflow; and workforce mental health and well-being., Conclusion: Globally, most radiographers received inadequate training for managing COVID-19 patients during the initial acute phase of the pandemic. Additionally, there were significant changes to clinical practice, working patterns and perceived increase in workload due to surges in COVID-19 patients and the consequent strict adherence to new infection protocols. These changes, coupled with fear emanating from the increased risk of the workforce to contracting the infection, contributed to anxiety and workplace-related stress during the pandemic., Implications for Practice: Local pandemic response strategies must be appropriately developed from standard protocols in readiness for safe clinical practice and well-being management training of practitioners., Competing Interests: Conflict of interest statement None., (Crown Copyright © 2021. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: Radiographers and radiation therapists are key patient-facing health practitioners supporting the delivery of optimal patient care during the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of this research was to investigate the impact of COVID-19 on clinical service delivery and well-being of these healthcare professionals in Australia., Methods: A cross-sectional online survey of Australian radiographers and radiation therapists was conducted in June-July 2020. The survey collected data on demographic characteristics, and the impact of COVID-19 on professional practice, infection control and workplace-related stress., Results: A total of 218 responses were received. Changes in work hours (P < 0.001) and workload (P = 0.022) were experienced due to COVID-19. Diagnostic radiographers reported increased procedural pressure on mobile radiography, computed tomography and general radiography. For radiation therapists, most pressure included areas of simulation and linear accelerator. PPE was in short supply at the start of the pandemic, and at the time of the study, shortages were identified for all PPE items. There was no difference in PPE supply reported by diagnostic radiographers and radiation therapists except for hand sanitiser (P = 0.003). Respondents experienced increased personal stress (61.4%) and anxiety (58.2%) at work due to COVID-19. In addition, their work caused increased stress to their family, partners or friends (57.4%)., Conclusions: COVID-19 has resulted in changes to clinical working patterns and service delivery. PPE shortages, as well as increased workplace-related stress, were identified. Workplaces should seek to mitigate the pandemic impact through the provision of adequate PPE for safe practice as well as implement strategies to support and enhance staff well-being., (© 2021 The Authors. Journal of Medical Radiation Sciences published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of Australian Society of Medical Imaging and Radiation Therapy and New Zealand Institute of Medical Radiation Technology.)

Introduction: This study aimed to investigate the response of the radiology workforce to the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on professional practice in India and eight other Middle Eastern and North African countries. It further investigated the levels of fear and anxiety among this workforce during the pandemic., Methods: A quantitative cross-sectional study was conducted using an online survey from 22 May-2 June 2020 among radiology workers employed during the COVID-19 pandemic. The survey collected information related to the following themes: (1) demographic characteristics, (2) the impact of COVID-19 on radiology practice, and (3) fear and (4) anxiety emanating from the global pandemic., Results: We received 903 responses. Fifty-eight percent had completed training on infection control required for handling COVID-19 patients. A large proportion (79.5%) of the respondents strongly agreed or agreed that personal protective equipment (PPE) was adequately available at work during the pandemic. The respondents reported experiences of work-related stress (42.9%), high COVID-19 fear score (83.3%) and anxiety (10%) during the study period., Conclusion: There was a perceived workload increase in general x-ray and Computed Tomography imaging procedures because they were the key modalities for the initial and follow-up investigations of COVID-19. However, there was adequate availability of PPE during the study period. Most radiology workers were afraid of being infected with the virus. Fear was predominant among workers younger than 30 years of age and also in temporary staff. Anxiety occurred completely independent of gender, age, experience, country, place of work, and work status., Implications for Practice: It is important to provide training and regular mental health support and evaluations for healthcare professionals, including radiology workers, during similar future pandemics., (Copyright © 2020 The College of Radiographers. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic has altered the professional practice of all healthcare workers, including radiographers. In the pandemic, clinical practice of radiographers was centred mostly on chest imaging of COVID-19 patients and radiotherapy treatment care delivery to those with cancer. This study aimed to assess the radiographers' perspective on the impact of the pandemic on their wellbeing and imaging service delivery in Ghana., Methods: A cross-sectional survey of practising radiographers in Ghana was conducted online from March 26th to May 6th, 2020. A previously validated questionnaire that sought information regarding demographics, general perspectives on personal and professional impact of the pandemic was used as the research instrument. Data obtained was analysed using Microsoft Excel® 2016., Results: A response rate of 57.3% (134/234) was obtained. Of the respondents, 75.4% (n = 101) reported to have started experiencing high levels of workplace-related stress after the outbreak. Three-quarters (n = 98, 73.1%) of respondents reported limited access to any form of psychosocial support systems at work during the study period. Half (n = 67, 50%) of the respondents reported a decline in general workload during the study period while only a minority (n = 18, 13.4%) reported an increase in workload due to COVID-19 cases., Conclusion: This national survey indicated that majority of the workforce started experiencing coronavirus-specific workplace-related stress after the outbreak. Albeit speculative, low patient confidence and fear of contracting the COVID-19 infection on hospital attendance contributed to the decline in general workload during the study period., Implications for Practice: In order to mitigate the burden of workplace-related stress on frontline workers, including radiographers, and in keeping to standard practices for staff mental wellbeing and patient safety, institutional support structures are necessary in similar future pandemics., Competing Interests: Conflict of interest statement All the authors declare no financial relationships with any organisations that might have an interest in the submitted work; no other relationships or activities that could appear to have influenced the submitted work., (Copyright © 2020 The College of Radiographers. All rights reserved.)