Recently, CAMRT joined with the Canadian Association of Radiologists (CAR) to commission an opinion poll with the Canadian public on topics relating to medical imaging, MRTs and sonographers. Public opinion research firm Nanos Research conducted the poll from September 2nd to 4th of 2023. We wanted to share some of the highlights that related directly to MRTs with you:
Public Awareness of the MRT Profession
As you know, the CAMRT is deeply involved in raising awareness of the MRT profession in Canada. in 2011, CAMRT launched its Image of Care campaign to brand the MRT profession and bring awareness forward in the public discourse. At that time, public awareness of the MRT profession and the roles that MRTs played in patient care was relatively low.
The current survey suggests that all this awareness work is working. When the public were asked if they were familiar with the work an MRT did, an encouraging 4 out of 5 had some familiarity: 40% said they familiar and 38% said they were somewhat familiar. If you look at provinces other than Quebec (where MRTs are known by different professional titles) the awareness is even higher (~85%).
It’s not 100% awareness, but if we keep doing what we’re doing we will get there one day. This coming MRT Week is a perfect opportunity to spread the word even further about the important role MRTs play in the health of Canadians.
Huge public support for MRT Workforce Investments
An important common goal for the CAMRT and the CAR is investment in MRT workforce. CAMRT has made investment in recruitment and retention for the MRT workforce a top priority of its advocacy since 2020 (see our advocacy). It will be the top priority for our Day on the Hill in Ottawa on November 6, 2023. So it is very encouraging to see extremely strong support from the public all across Canada for investments in MRTs and sonographers.
An interesting series of questions also examined support amongst the Canadian public for investment in AI solutions in the face of the current healthcare crisis. Results show that the public are more supportive of investment in MRTs than in AI (64% vs. 31% choosing support for each approach).
Ubiquity of Medical Imaging
We already knew how essential MRTs were to patient care and the overall function of the healthcare system in general. But it is still interesting to hear to what extent individual Canadians are interacting with these services. As highlighted in the Nanos poll, 3 out of 5 of the general public had received care from an MRT or a sonographer within about the last year.
This data point shows just how important the role of MRTs is in healthcare, and we hope it will help to drive the need for investment in your essential profession with governments and decision makers.
CAMRT Advocacy
This current public opinion polling, as well as the other data we gather through our research on the profession will play a role in our ongoing advocacy for investment in the MRT workforce. Check out our ADVOCACY pages for more details, and follow updates on our advocacy efforts in our quarterly newsletters and other publications.
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