Results of a Global Survey on the State of Interventional Radiology 2024

Purpose: To understand the state of IR practice and education worldwide and identify factors impacting access to IR services.

Methods and materials: A Society of Interventional Radiology (SIR) approved anonymous survey was created to gather demographics, regional IR practice and education characteristics, and challenges impacting local IR development. The survey was distributed to members of global IR societies and shared on social media from 6/2022 to 9/2023.

Results: Of 1263 respondents, 987 provided specialty affiliations, including 811 interventional radiologists (IRs), 85 diagnostic radiologists (DRs), and 91 IR/DRs. 260 identified as attending/consultants, 185 residents/fellows, 12 medical students, and 7 technologists/nurses. IR awareness was the greatest reported need globally. Education, patient referrals, and training were also common needs. When compared to North American training programs, there were significant shortages of dedicated IR training programs in Africa (OR=0.06, p<0.001), Asia (OR=0.50, p=0.004), Europe (OR=0.12, p<0.001), and Oceania (OR=0.12, p<0.001). Significant shortage of any IR exposure during radiology training was observed in Africa (OR=0.31, p<0.001), Asia (OR=0.16, p<0.001), and South America (OR=0.14, p<0.001). Additional challenges included awareness and support in the hospital setting and competition with other specialties. Compared to respondents from North America, the top three actions recommended to provide the most significant relative impact included establishing IR training programs, providing access to online education, and holding multidisciplinary conferences.

Conclusion: This survey established the universal needs to increase patient awareness about IR and improve dedicated IR training programs. The results can help guide organizational and societal efforts to improve access to IR services worldwide.