Radiation safety behavior model for dental hygiene departments of universities in South Korea

Background: dental hygiene departments in korean institutions of highereducation regularly use radiography systems for educating students. despitereports indicating that exposure doses from these radiation-generatingdevices are small, and thus, present low risks for causing physical harm orchromosomal abnormalities, the large numbers of people who participate inoral examinations involving dental radiography raise questions about theoptimal methods for managing radiation safety. materials and methods:social cognitve theory incorporating major variables pertaining to radiationsafety management derived from the haddon matrix was used. this modelproposes and refines an approach for enhancing the radiation safetybehaviors of both professors and students in korea’s collegiate dental hygienedepartments. results: the results of the study indicate that professorsrespond most favorably to stated expectations for accomplishing effectiveradiation safety management; thus model proposes that enhancing safetybehaviors among professors depends upon cultivating organizationalenvironments with clear expectations. students, in contrast, engage indesirable radiation safety management behaviors when they can display selfefficacy;thus, the model proposes that personal education that enhancestheir practical knowledge for engaging in desired behaviors is most desirable.conclusion: to enhance the current radiation safety management behaviorsof the collegiate dental hygiene departments in korea, it will be helpful toestablish a strategy arising from the model developed here.