A survey of South African Radiographers’ and Radiologists’ opinions on role extension for radiographers

Abstract

Role extension for radiographers in South Africa is driven by the need to improve service delivery challenges and the radiographers’ need for professional recognition. The two areas earmarked for role extension are injection of contrast media and reporting on radiographs. This study was conducted to determine the willingness of diagnostic radiographers to extend their roles and gather the opinions of radiologists regarding this role extension. A quantitative, descriptive, exploratory and cross-sectional study was conducted. A sample of 300 radiographers and 30 radiologists was taken from a population of 7771 radiographers and 885 radiologists as per the Health Professions Council of South Africa register (HPCSA). Survey Monkey was used for making questionnaires accessible to all participants. The level of significance was fixed at 5%. Sixty-eight percent of radiographers agreed in principle to injection of contrast media and only 25.5% agreed to provide a written report on the interpretation of radiographs. Eighty percent of radiologists agreed in principle to radiographers injecting contrast media and only 11.6% agreed to radiographers providing a written report on the interpretation of radiographs. The participants gave an average response of 74.4% on the need for radiologists to take responsibility for the adverse reactions that may results from injecting contrast media. Radiographers and radiologists supported the need for further education and training and role extension for injecting contrast media. There is concern over the ‘no one’ response as to who performs radiologists’ work and how this impacted on service delivery.