Thesis abstract:

«p»«p»«small»«big»Radiographer commenting is a brief description of abnormalities written by the radiographer who interacts with the patient at the time of image acquisition. Benefits of radiographer commenting have been well described in the literature, including expedited acute treatment, and reduction of diagnostic errors. While improved image quality is a perceived benefit of commenting, there is a paucity of research on this. Therefore, the aim of this project is to assess the influence of radiographer commenting on the quality of X-Ray images. Qualitative and quantitative data will be collected within the clinical setting and research will be conducted as a mixed-methods study in two phases. Phase one will be a single-centre, quantitative investigation of the difference in image quality between X-Ray images associated with radiographer comments and those with no comments, using visual grading characteristics analysis. Phase two will be a multi-centre investigation of radiographers’ and radiologists’ perspectives about X-Ray image quality in clinical sites where commenting has been introduced, using focus groups and surveys. The intended contribution of this research is to improve understanding of the impact of commenting on a radiographer’s role of producing high quality medical images. This will add to the body of knowledge informing the inclusion of commenting within radiographic teaching and practice. As high image quality is a cornerstone of accurate diagnosis and management, it may also highlight a new avenue to advance patient care in Australian hospitals.«/big»«/small»«/p»«/p»