Journal of Radiation Protection and Research

The Korean Association for Radiation Protection (대한방사선방어학회)
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Analytic Hierarchy Process for Prioritizing Radiation Safety Measures in Medical Institutions

  • Hyun Suk Kim (Division of Radiation Regulation, Department of Medical Radiation Safety, Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety) ;
  • Heejeong Jeong (Department of Legal Affairs and Safety Standards, Innovation Strategy Center, Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety) ;
  • Hyungbin Moon (Division of Data and Information Sciences, Major of Big Data Convergence, Pukyong National University) ;
  • Sang Hyun Park (Division of Radiation Regulation, Department of Medical Radiation Safety, Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety)
  • Received : 2023.10.13
  • Accepted : 2024.01.08
  • Published : 2024.03.31
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Abstract

Background: This study aimed to prioritize policy measures to improve radiation safety management in medical institutions using the analytic hierarchy process. Materials and Methods: It adopted three policy options-engineering, education, and enforcement-to categorize safety management measures, the so-called Harvey's 3Es. Then, the radiation safety management measures obtained from the current system and other studies were organized into action plan categories. Using the derived model, this study surveyed 33 stakeholders of radiation safety management in medical institutions and analyzed the importance of each measure. Results and Discussion: As a result, these stakeholders generally identified enforcement as the most important factor for improving the safety management system. The study also found that radiation safety officers and medical physicists perceived different measures as important, indicating clear differences in opinions among stakeholders, especially in improving quality assurance in radiation therapy. Hence, the process of coordination and consensus is likely to be critical in improving the radiation safety management system. Conclusion: Stakeholders in the medical field consider enforcement as the most critical factor in improving their safety management systems. Specifically, the most crucial among the six specific action plans was the "reinforcement of the organization and workforce for safety management," with a relative importance of 25.7%.

Keywords

Acknowledgement

This work was supported partially by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korea government (MSIT) (Project No.: 2022R1F1A1076189, RS-2023-00242528), and partially by the Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety (Grant No. S2361169).

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