Obesity-Related Biases Among Health-Care Personnel in Radiological Examination Environment: Impact, Manifestations, and Solutions

Abstract

Obesity is a global health issue, requiring specialized diagnosis, treatment, and care through the health service. Patients with obesity require a tailored standard of care in a radiologic examination environment for issues arising from technical and patient care considerations. Some of the issues include exceeding the weight limits of imaging equipment, motion artifacts due to increased exposure factors requiring prolonged exposure time, insufficient coverage of the image receptor, and potential patient embarrassment. Each health-care provider is responsible for ensuring fair and unbiased patient care. This paper aims to describe obesity-related biases in the radiological examination environment and provide some solutions.