Medical physics services in radiology and nuclear medicine in Africa: challenges and opportunities identified through workforce and infrastructure surveys

Abstract

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) developed a staffing model to estimate the number of clinically qualified medical physicists (CQMP) that are required in an imaging facility, including diagnostic radiology and nuclear medicine. For the first time this staffing model was applied on a large scale across Africa. Within the framework of the IAEA African Regional Agreement (AFRA) Technical Cooperation (TC) project RAF6/053 entitled “Enhancing Capacity Building of Medical Physics to Improve Safety and Effectiveness of Medical Imaging (AFRA)”, a survey based on the IAEA staffing model was used to investigate the current CQMP workforce needs in imaging and radionuclide therapy in Africa in order to establish a baseline, identify gaps and suggest steps for improvement. The survey was open for five months, after which data verification was performed. 82 responses were received from 21 countries, including data from 97 diagnostic radiology and 40 nuclear medicine departments, as well as 75 interventional radiology departments and/or catheterization laboratories. Only 26·8% of centres employed an adequate number of CQMPs. The staffing model indicated that 134·3 CQMPs were required for these centres, but only 63 are currently employed in medical imaging and/or nuclear medicine at these centres. At least 11 countries do not have a single institution with an adequate number of CQMPs. Data analysis indicated that the number of radiology and nuclear medicine CQMPs is largely inadequate, at least by a factor of 20 in almost all countries in the region.