Japan is a country which has the largest number of computer tomography apparatus in the world. We focused on the apparatus and in order to clarify the thoughts of the patients on the exposure by the inspection and on the word “radiation.” We conducted semi-structured interviews in 19 patients who underwent CT inspection. The extracted results on the patients’ thoughts were as follows: ［Awareness of radiation］ consisting of “risk awareness of the effect on the human body,” “mental value,” and “feature of radiation”; ［Perceptions of inspection］ consisting of “usefulness of inspection,” “risk perception of inspection,” and “emotional reaction to inspection”; ［Trust in medical care］ consisting of “conviction of safety of medical treatment,” and “assurance from authority.”
Medical personnel is required to provide information needed by the patients and respond to their questions. That will enable to soften patients’ anxiety for radiation exposure and their reluctance in inspection. In addition, we have to bear the possibility in mind that there are some patients who increase anxiety by getting more knowledge. Thus, the necessity of the individual nursing intervention has been suggested.