en عمومى General مقاله اصیل Original Article <div style="text-align: justify;">Background: Public awareness and knowledge of radiation sources are crucial for protecting individuals and the environment from harmful exposure. This understanding enables health officials to make informed medical decisions and minimize risks associated with everyday radiation. It also facilitates the creation and enforcement of regulations to control radiation exposure.<br> Methods: This cross-sectional study involved 120 citizens of Zarand County in 2023. Three researcherdeveloped questionnaires, assessing awareness, attitude, and performance, were used in this study. The validity and reliability of these questionnaires were assessed using CVI, CVR, and Cronbach&rsquo;s Alpha, respectively. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 22 (SPSS Inc./IBM, Chicago, IL, USA). The chisquare test was employed to examine relationships among the research variables.<br> Results: Around 73% of participants had medium to low knowledge of radiation sources. Only 28% showed a positive attitude towards domestic and environmental radiation, while 86% practiced good preventive and protective behaviors. Social networks and mobile platforms were the main sources of information on radioactivity. A significant correlation was found between participants&rsquo; awareness and education level (P = 0.01). However, no significant relationships were found between awareness, behaviors, or attitudes and the variables of age, gender, occupation, or socioeconomic status (P > 0.05).<br> Conclusion: This study reveals that over two-thirds of the population has a medium to low level of awareness and understanding of radiation sources. Despite this, their health behavior is high, reflecting their importance on health issues. It is recommended that authorities prioritize educational programs on radiation sources and protection strategies to improve public awareness.</div> Radiation exposure, Surveys and questionnaires, Educational status, Social networking 1 10 http://ehemj.com/browse.php?a_code=A-10-1-394&slc_lang=en&sid=1 Leili Abedi Gheshlaghi abedi.leili@gmail.com 100319475328460020735 100319475328460020735 No Noncommuicable Diseases Research Center, Bam University of Medical Sciences, Bam, Iran Neda Javid N.javid1367@gmail.com 100319475328460020736 100319475328460020736 No Environmental Health Engineering Research Center, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran Abbas Dehdarirad abbasrad1364@gmail.com 100319475328460020737 100319475328460020737 No Department of Environmental Health Engineering, Sirjan School of Medical Sciences, Sirjan, Iran Majid Amiri Gharaghani amiri.majid76@gmail.com 100319475328460020738 0009-0004-0694-2485 No Student Research Committee, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran Yousef Dadban Shahamat ydadban@gmail.com 100319475328460020739 100319475328460020739 No Department of Environmental Health, Environmental Health Research Centre, Golestan University of Medical Sciences, Gorgan, Iran Seyed Mojtaba Momtaz mojtaba.momtaz@yahoo.com 100319475328460020740 100319475328460020740 No Environmental Health Engineering Research Center, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran Yaser Soltaninejad yasersoltani90@yahoo.com 100319475328460020741 100319475328460020741 No Guest Lecturer at Department of Environmental Health Engineering, Zarand School of Nursing, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran Hakimeh Mahdizadeh H.mahdizadeh@kmu.ac.ir 100319475328460020742 100319475328460020742 Yes Corresponding author: Environmental Health Engineering Research Center, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran