Radiation and its associated health risks: assessment of knowledge and risk perception among adolescents and young adults in Saudi Arabia
-
Heba Shaaban
and
Mohsina Bano Shaikh
Abstract
Electromagnetic radiation is the fastest growing environmental factor due to the vast development in technology in the last decades. Awareness about radiation has received more attention worldwide due to its health hazards. Adolescents are exposed to radiation from various sources on a daily basis. The number of studies conducted to assess the knowledge and perception of adolescents and young adults regarding radiation and its risks is limited, especially in the Middle East. The aim of this study was to assess the knowledge and perception about radiation and its associated hazards among adolescents and young adults. Additionally, our aim was to identify the best methods of education regarding radiation and its protective measures. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 506 participants in Saudi Arabia. It was found that the overall knowledge and awareness on radiation sources and its hazards among adolescents and young adults is inadequate. The majority of participants had misconceptions regarding radiation sources and its detriments to health. Socio-demographic variables were associated with the participants’ perception. Educating adolescents on radiation and its safety measures is much needed. It was found that the most preferred methods of education are social media and health care providers. The findings of this study will provide insight when designing future interventions to promote specific messages to enhance knowledge and improve awareness regarding radiation.
Conflicts of Interest: The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose.
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Articles in the same Issue
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Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Original Articles
- Awareness and practices of menstrual hygiene among females of reproductive age in rural Puducherry – a mixed method study
- Many hours of watching medical TV shows is associated with greater medical knowledge
- Spatio-temporal trends in the risk of adolescent pregnancy in Minas Gerais, Brazil, 2000–2015
- Sexual behaviour and its correlates among adolescents in Brunei Darussalam
- The relationship between anxiety and social support in male and female students in high schools in the southeast of Iran
- Cannabis and amphetamine use and socio-ecological (proximal and distal) factors among school-going adolescents in four countries in the Caribbean and four countries in South America
- Gender differences in concussion-related knowledge, attitudes and reporting-behaviours among high school student-athletes
- Determinants of overweight and obesity among urban school-going children and adolescents: a case-control study in Bangladesh
- Addiction to the Internet and mobile phones and its relationship with loneliness in Iranian adolescents
- Prevalence and associated factors for social phobia among school-going adolescents in a rural area of Puducherry, South India
- Self-efficacy of osteoporosis preventive behaviors and its predictors in Iranian adolescents
- Prevalence of pediculosis and its related factors among primary school girls in the north of Iran
- Risk behaviors in adolescence – a study in a Portuguese health unit
- Statistical analysis for the impact of smoking on the behavior and health of Qatari adolescents
- Risk behaviors screening in Thai adolescents with acute and chronic illnesses
- Prenatal and early life origins of adolescence sleep problems: evidence from a birth cohort
- Intake of fruit, vegetables and milk products and correlates among school boys in Saudi Arabia
- Determinants of early marriage among female adolescent in Indonesia
- Social health needs of Iranian male adolescents
- Radiation and its associated health risks: assessment of knowledge and risk perception among adolescents and young adults in Saudi Arabia
- What does social media have to do with health? A case study of Bangkok youths
- Determining the development of syntax in typically-developing Indian adolescents using a syntactic analysis package
- Prevalence of traumatic injuries to the anterior teeth among 3–17-year-old school children of Indore and correlating it with Kuppuswamy SES, occlusal relationship and ascertaining percentage of those seeking the treatment
- Impaired dynamic thiol/disulfide homeostasis in pubertal gynecomastia
- Can upper limb taping or exercises improve hand function, writing speed and self-perception of performance in adolescent school children?
- Hemihyperplasia/hemihypertrophy in adolescents: prospective international study
- Depression in a sample of Tunisian adolescents: prevalence, associated factors and comorbidity with anxiety disorders
- Predictors of sexual function in pregnant Iranian adolescents
- Spiritual belief and its link with potentially addictive behaviors in a youth sample in Switzerland
- Short Communications
- Violence depicted in advertisements on LinkNYC kiosks in Manhattan, New York City
- Major food groups contributing to sodium intake in school-attending adolescents
