Use of social media for the improvement of radiation safety knowledge among Saudi Arabian radiographers.

BACKGROUND: Radiographers have used social media networks for education, research, professional development and other purposes. However, in Saudi Arabia, there are no studies on the use of social media by radiographers. Therefore, the objective of this research was to evaluate the use of social media for the improvement of radiation safety knowledge among Saudi Arabian radiographers. METHODS: A questionnaire was designed to collect the data from Saudi Arabian radiographers. The questionnaire was created using Google Forms and was sent to 530 radiographers using WhatsApp. In total, 159 participants completed and returned the questionnaire through WhatsApp. The response rate was 30%. Basic descriptive statistics were employed to analyse the data. RESULTS: Most of the participants (79.9%) thought that social media could be used as a tool for the improvement of radiation safety knowledge. Also, almost half of participants (49.7%) employed social media when they needed to obtain information about radiation protection. Similarly, a majority of respondents (69.2%) used social media when they required information related to radiation safety. In addition, 81.7% of participants observed on video the existing information on radiation safety. Also, 71.7% of them were disposed to expand the use of social media to obtain information for radiation protection in their professional activities. CONCLUSION: The results indicate that social media can help to improve radiation safety knowledge among Saudi Arabian radiographers. Consequently, participants were willing to increase the use of these tools in their professional work.

Usage and Acceptability of the Wateen Application Among the Population of Saudi Arabia.

PURPOSE: The main objective of this research was to investigate the opinion of the population of Saudi Arabia on the use and acceptability of the Wateen application. METHODS: This research was a quantitative cross-sectional study in which an online questionnaire was distributed among the target population who were healthy people over 18 years of age that had used or known about the Wateen application. A total of 352 participants responded to the questionnaire. The data collection was carried out between November and December 2020. A basic descriptive statistical analysis was used to analyze the data. RESULTS: The participants had used the Wateen app to follow the donation record, as a reminder of donation dates, to find lists and blood bank locations, to request blood donation, and to find donation requests on social media. After receiving the blood donation request from the Wateen app, majority of the respondents felt encouraged, motivated, and educated to donate blood, and about blood donation, respectively. Participants also indicated that the application helped them to find donors. Besides, majority of the respondents stated that the Wateen app had reduced the gap between blood donors and the need for blood. However, few participants expressed that they had not received or observed a post about the Wateen application on social media networks. CONCLUSION: The results of this research indicated that there is a general acceptance of the use of the Wateen app among the participants of this study. However, the importance of the Wateen app needs to be further advertised so that it can be used in the blood donation process in all regions of Saudi Arabia. In this way, the people of Saudi Arabia will be more aware of the importance of the Wateen app in the blood donation process, and the goal of the Ministry of Health of bridging the gap between donation centers and blood donors could be achieved.