Greening the Future: Student Radiographers' Views on Waste Management in Radiography Departments

Greening the Future

Authors

  • Bornface Chinene Harare Institute of Technology, Department of Radiography, Belvedere, Harare
  • Leon-say Mudadi Royal Papworth Hospital, NHS Foundation Trust, Cambridge, United Kingdom
  • Arnabjyoti Deva Sarma Assistant Professor, Programme of Radiology, Faculty of Paramedical Sciences, Assam down town University, India

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.54450/saradio.2024.62.2.937

Keywords:

Radiography, waste management, sustainability, barriers

Abstract

Introduction: There is a paucity of literature regarding waste management within the field of radiography, both in the academic context and in daily practice. This study aimed to assess the views of Zimbabwean student radiographers on waste management practices in radiography departments.

Methods: A quantitative cross-sectional study was conducted at a prominent tertiary institution in Zimbabwe between May and June 2024. The research utilised a questionnaire and employed descriptive statistics to analyse the quantitative data with Stata 13.

Results: A total of 92 out of 101 students took part in the study. Key findings included 67.03% somewhat familiar, and 13.19% very familiar with waste management practices. All of the participants acknowledged waste management’s importance for radiography sustainability; over half (55.43%) lacked awareness of segregation protocols due to inadequate training updates; 13.19% received frequent training. Most participants (56.04%) were actively involved in waste management, performing tasks such as waste segregation; organising clean-up events (36.26%). Common barriers included lack of awareness (82.95%) and limited access to disposal facilities (73.86%). Most participants advocated integrating waste management topics into the radiography curriculum.

Conclusions: Recommendations include improving training, and infrastructure, enriching the radiography curriculum with waste management themes, and engaging in community outreach activities.

Downloads

Published

2024-11-27

Issue

Vol. 62 No. 2 (2024)

Section

Original Articles

License

Copyright on all published material belongs to the Society of Radiographers of South Africa (SORSA).

I hereby understand and declare that:

  • All proprietary rights other than copyright are reserved to the authors, as well as the right to reproduce original figures and tables from this item in their future works, provided full credit is given to the original publication The South African Radiographer ISSN 0258 0241.
  • In consideration of the reviewing and editing done by the editors of The South African Radiographer of the above named manuscript, the author/s hereby transfer, assign, or otherwise convey all copyright ownership world-wide, in all languages, to the Society of Radiographers of South Africa in the event that this manuscript is accepted for publication.
  • If the manuscript has been commissioned by another person or organisation, or if it has been written as part of the duties of an employee, that full authorization has been given by the representative of the commissioning organisation or employer to be published in the The South African Radiographer.