Abstract / Summary
Introduction: Sustainable healthcare systems aim to deliver effective care while maintaining environmental, social, and economic balance. Due to high energy consumption and reliance on advanced imaging technologies, radiology departments play a key role in advancing environmental sustainability in healthcare. Integrating sustainability and planetary health into academic and clinical training is therefore essential to prepare future healthcare professionals to address environmental challenges. This study aimed to explore environmental sustainability knowledge and perspectives among radiological sciences students, interns, and recent graduates at King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences (KSAU-HS) in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. This could provide preliminary insight into sustainability awareness within the radiological sciences education pathway. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among participants from the Radiological Sciences Department at KSAU-HS in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Data were collected using a researcher-developed questionnaire that underwent preliminary face and content assessment and was distributed electronically via Google Forms. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 29. Differences in sustainability knowledge scores according to participant characteristics were examined using the Mann–Whitney U and Kruskal–Wallis tests, with statistical significance set at p < 0.05. Results: Sustainability knowledge scores showed a median of 6.0 and were not significantly associated with age, gender, prior awareness, studying sustainability topics, or participation in related activities (p > 0.05). However, significant differences were observed across academic levels (p = 0.037), with higher scores among third-year students and Interns. Knowledge scores were also significantly associated with perceptions of the importance of sustainability education (p = 0.011), with lower scores among those who considered it unimportant. Conclusion: Participants demonstrated varying levels of sustainability knowledge and generally favorable perspectives toward incorporating sustainability-related content into radiological sciences education. These preliminary findings support further consideration of sustainability in curricula; however, larger multicentre studies using comprehensive, validated instruments are needed to assess radiology-specific sustainability competencies.