Development and Validation of a Questionnaire on Radiation Protection in Dentistry

The use of ionizing radiation is legally regulated by health authorities due to the risk of harmful effects on patients and occupationally exposed personnel. In dentistry, the possible risk is carcinogenesis, being essential to know and apply radiological protection, in order to reduce this risk. There are few investigations on the level of knowledge of dental students in radiation protection, and none carried out in Central America. Questionnaires are a tool to determine this information; however, during their development, validation is essential, allowing the instrument to be used at different times or populations. The aim of this study was to develop and validate a questionnaire to assess the knowledge in radiation protection of undergraduate and postgraduate students in dentistry. A questionnaire on radiological protection was built based on literature and national legislation. For its validation, the pre-test was carried out in two stages: content review through the judgment of 6 experts, and application to a small sample of students. Once modified according to the pre-test, the questionnaire was applied to 62 students - who did not participate in the pre-test -. Content validity was assessed using Aiken's V coefficient in the first stage of the pre-test. Reproducibility was determined using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), and reliability using Cronbach's alpha. An Aiken V coefficient of 0.95 was obtained, an ICC between 0.697 and 0.729 and a Cronbach's alpha of 0.727. The questionnaire developed is a valid instrument to evaluate the knowledge in radiological protection of undergraduate and postgraduate students in dentistry. This instrument will strengthen and improve the training of dental undergraduate and postgraduate students in radiological protection.