Awareness and Understanding of Ionizing and Non-Ionizing Radiation Modalities Among Patients in Saudi Arabia.

Background: Medical diagnostic procedures involving the radiation use are important component of modern healthcare systems, enabling accurate diagnosis, staging and monitoring of many conditions or diseases. Patients' understanding of ionizing versus non-ionizing imaging modalities, associated risks, and radiation safety is essential for informed consent and shared decision-making. Aim: This study aims to assess patients' awareness, knowledge, perceptions, confidence, and educational needs regarding ionizing and non-ionizing radiation used in medical imaging. Methods: A cross-sectional questionnaire-based design was adopted in this study. Participants included patients who have undergone various medical imaging procedures, and were aged above 18 years. An online validated 28-item questionnaire was used to collect the data from 1256 adult patients. Descriptive statistics and inferential analyses, including ANOVA and Results: Although 77.6% recognized natural ionizing radiation, 40.8% misclassified MRI as ionizing and 41.3% misclassified CT as non-ionizing. Only 34.1% identified CT as the highest-dose procedure. Mean risk awareness score was 4.13 (SD 0.78) and confidence score was 4.15 (SD 0.79). Older age, higher education, and female gender were significantly associated with greater awareness ( Conclusion: Despite high perceived awareness and confidence regarding ionizing radiation, significant misconceptions about imaging modalities and radiation dose still persist among patients in Saudi Arabia. This suggests the need for structured, standardized radiation-risk communication before imaging procedures to improve patient understanding and informed consent.