Disabilities and Anxiety

People with disabilities may experience more anxiety in the radiology department than those without disabilities86. During your career as an MRI technologist, you may have encountered patients with physical and/or cognitive and developmental disabilities. When dealing with these vulnerable populations, the primary concern may be how to proceed with a safe exam and good communication, and not necessarily about anxiety. People with disabilities may not only need additional assistance during an MRI but may also experience anxiety due to their disability.

The physical disabilities that may cause anxiety in your patients include those with visual or hearing impairments, blindness, deafness, morbid obesity, and mobility issues.​​ Patients with cognitive or developmental disabilities​​ may be especially prone to anxiety during MRIs as they are often extremely sensitive to sensory stimulation.​​ Examples of sensory stimulation in the MRI environment including scanning​​ noise,​​ table​​ vibrations, pain from not moving, and peripheral nerve stimulation.​​ Temperature​​ is another example and​​ can be considered a sensory stimulus as MRI rooms are kept very cool, also​​ patients​​ may​​ become hot due to tissue heating up from SAR or specific absorption rate from​​ exposure​​ to radio frequencies.​​