MEDIRAD formulation of science-based recommendations for medical radiation protection: a stakeholder forum survey

MEDIRAD (Implications of Medical Low Dose Radiation Exposure) is an innovative European research project funded by EURATOM which seeks to bring closer together the nuclear and medical research communities in order to advance science for radiation protection in radiotherapy, nuclear medicine, and diagnostic and interventional radiology. The project also aims to promote links between science and society, with the goal of better protecting patients and professionals, through the publication of recommendations based on MEDIRAD research findings (http://www.medirad-project.eu/). The MEDIRAD Stakeholder Forum (SF) was designed to set up a dialogue between the Consortium member organisations and the society regarding the recommendations, which are expected from this project. We envisage three successive steps in this dialogue (1: first SF consultation identifying the needs for improved medical radiological protection; 2: drafting science based MEDIRAD recommendation and 3: second SF consultation to collect feedback), which are implemented throughout the project. A first overview of input of the Stakeholder Forum about the topics to be addressed in the MEDIRAD recommendations, based on an exploratory questionnaire, is presented in this article. Quantitative and qualitative in-depth analysis leads to the identification of 11 priority thematics.