The experiences of sonographers with regard to report writing and communicating their findings.

Background: Sonographers in South Africa are legally allowed to write their own reports; however, they often lack adequate training in providing a well-structured and coherent formal written report.

Aim: The aim of this study was to explore and describe how sonographers in the Gauteng province experience the responsibility of report writing and to develop recommendations that could assist sonographers in the execution of their duty.

Setting: Focus group discussions (FGDs) with sonographers from private and public hospitals located in Gauteng province were conducted at neutral locations that were convenient for the sonographers.

Overcoming communication barriers in a multicultural radiography setting.

Background: Effective communication between the patients and radiographers can be a daunting task in a multicultural, multilingual environment. With 11 official languages, South Africans experience language barriers amongst themselves, which pose unique communication challenges on a daily basis. It is thus important to explore how radiographers overcome such challenges to provide an effective service to their patients.

Ultrasound biosafety: Knowledge and opinions of health practitioners who perform obstetric scans in South Africa.

Background: Diagnostic ultrasound is generally considered as a safe test in pregnancy. To date there is no evidence that ultrasound has caused harm to the developing foetus. However, with the number of obstetric scans on the rise and the steep increase in acoustic output achieved by modern machines, the lack of evidence of absolute safety remains a concern.