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Effectiveness of a training course on the quality assurance of chest radiography in the Philippines.

SETTING
Socio-economically underprivileged areas in urban settings in the Philippines.


OBJECTIVE
To determine the effectiveness of a training course in quality chest radiography (CXR).


METHODS
A descriptive, observational intervention study in which a questionnaire was administered to X-ray facility staff before training, and CXRs were reviewed before and after a training course for radiological technologists in Manila and Quezon City in the Philippines from 2009 to 2010. Course participants submitted six CXRs, each taken before and after training. Two senior radiological technologists blinded to the CXR profiles assessed the CXRs independently, using an assessment sheet developed by the Tuberculosis Coalition for Technical Assistance.


RESULTS
Forty radiological technologists from 10 facilities in Manila City and nine in Quezon City participated in the training. A total of 36 participants submitted the required set of CXRs. The assessment indicated that the training effectively improved the quality of CXRs in terms of identification marking (Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed-rank sum test, P = 0.00), contrast (P = 0.00), sharpness (P = 0.01), artefacts (P = 0.00), and the total score of the factors (P = 0.00).


CONCLUSION
The significant improvement in the total score of assessment factors strongly suggests a positive impact of the training course on improving the quality of CXRs.