Blood donation knowledge and attitudes among undergraduate health science students: A cross-sectional study

Unveiling blood donation knowledge, attitude, and practices among 12,606 university students: a cross-sectional study across 16 countries

We assessed university students' knowledge, attitude, and practice toward blood donation and identified the factors that promote or hinder their willingness to donate. We employed a multicenter cross-sectional design, collecting data from August to October 2022 through self-administered questionnaires available in Arabic and English. Both online (Google Forms) and paper surveys were utilized. Data were analyzed using R Statistical Software (v4.1.3; R Core Team 2022). A total of 12,606 university students (7966 females and 4640 males) from 16 countries completed the questionnaire; of them, 28.5% had a good knowledge level regarding blood donation, and 22.7% had donated blood at least once. Students in health science colleges had significantly more awareness of blood donation (p-value < 0.001), but there were no significant differences in practice (p-value = 0.8). Barriers to donation included not being asked (37%), medical ineligibility (33%), fear of pain or infection (18%), concerns about negative health effects (18%), difficulty accessing donation centers (15%), and medical mistrust (14%). Individuals aged > 20 years had significantly higher odds of possessing a high knowledge level (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 1.77, p < 0.001). Private and international university enrollment was associated with increased knowledge (aOR 1.19, p-value < 0.001 and aOR 1.44, p-value = 0.003), while non-health science college students had lower odds (aOR 0.36, p < 0.001). Regarding blood donation status, participants > 20 years old were more likely to donate (aOR 2.21, p < 0.001). Conversely, being female, having congenital or chronic diseases, and possessing low knowledge levels were associated with decreased odds of blood donation (all p < 0.05). University students show insufficient knowledge about blood donation, with health science students displaying higher awareness levels. Despite their positive attitudes, blood donation rates remain low across all disciplines. It is imperative to enhance education and accessibility to foster a culture of blood donation among students.

Red Ribbon Club inculcation of positive deviance approach to promote blood donation among undergraduate medical college students

BACKGROUND

Blood is an essential part of human life and blood donation has become a necessity that every society must take into consideration. Health care professionals have a major responsibility in raising community awareness on blood donation.

OBJECTIVE

This study aims to find out the knowledge and attitude of undergraduate medical students on blood donation and to determine the effectiveness of positive deviance (PD) approach.

METHODOLOGY

This institutional based cross-sectional study was conducted as a part of World AIDS Days celebration by Red Ribbon club among 414 undergraduate students using convenient sampling technique. A baseline and endline survey were conducted using a pre-structured validated questionnaire. To address the knowledge gap PD approach was used for the students who had voluntarily donated blood, volunteered in providing health education, and shared their experience to their peers. Ethical principals were adhered.

RESULTS

The mean age of the students was 20.4 ± 1.2 years. Most respondents had moderate knowledge on blood donation and positivity attitude towards the same. The key finding of our study is that about 45 students (10.9%) have donated blood till now. As a result of PD training session more than half of them volunteered to donate blood in the future.

CONCLUSION

This study shows that awareness about blood donation were minimal among the medical students with misconceptions. After PD approach, the willingness was increased from 10% to 66%. Thus, PD approach builds capacity and leadership in volunteers is considered as the best approach for behavior change among their own peers.

A targeted survey on teachers' perception of training/education for blood donation in high school students: An invited case report for enhancing and retention of dedicated donors in Portugal

Promoting blood donation requires understanding and identifying the factors that motivate donations so that strategies for retaining and increasing loyalty can be developed. Transfusion literacy can be improved through school-based teaching and information about giving and solidarity to promote the development of future donors. For the purpose of aligning any strategies and motivational dynamics that promote adherence to informed donation and loyalty among students in the municipality of Coimbra. This study was undertaken to assess the perception of secondary school teachers regarding the students' knowledge of blood donation. A survey was conducted among teachers from seven public schools in Coimbra with regard to the 3rd and Secondary cycles. Based on the data, people give blood for a feeling of personal satisfaction and peer influence, as well as for the satisfaction of helping others. Blood donation should be made a focal point of relevance and interest in the school community, by implementing programs, projects, and dissemination actions targeting this target group. We are extremely glad and most enthusiastic to be invited to share our study through what's happening with the readers globally.

Characteristics of Donors and Modelling of the Characteristics to Possible Forecast the Repeat Donors Profile at Thammasat University Hospital

Blood donations are essential to the blood supply available for patients in life-saving treatments. We aimed to identify characteristics affecting repeat donations, and to model a tool to forecast repeat donation among Thammasat University Hospital (TUH) donors. A retrospective study for 4 years of donations at TUH was conducted to identify characteristics affecting continuous donations and model a scoring tool, as well as pilot test it, prospectively. Data concerning age, sex, ABO grouping, Rh(D) typing, and collection site were included. The outcome was dichotomized as controls and cases based on first time and repeat donations. Receiver operating characteristic curve was used to obtain the cut-off, while odds ratio was used to assign the score. During the study, 37,736 donations comprised 6,305 controls and 31,431 cases. Characteristics that positively predicted repeat donation included male, age ≥ 30 years, AB blood group and on-site donation, and they were chosen to model the score. The total score value of 3 was chosen as the rounded cut-off. A pilot study, the score was observed to have an accuracy of 67.5%. In conclusion, 4 significant characteristics appeared to positively influence repeat donation. The predictive scoring model is a simple reliable and valid tool exhibiting good accuracy.

Evaluation of nurses' attitudes and behaviors against blood donation

OBJECTIVE

This study was planned to evaluate the attitudes and behaviors of nurses towards blood donation.

METHOD

This study was conducted between 01 April and 30 September 2019 in a training and research hospital with 269 nurses from 450 nurses who agreed to participate in the study. "Questionnaire" and "Blood Donation Attitude Scale" were used to collect the data. The scale consists of three dimensions. Scores can be obtained from the scale in the range of 24-120. Descriptive statistics (number, percentage, mean, standard deviation), independent sample t-test and One Way ANOVA were used in data analysis.

RESULTS

95.5 % of the nurses participated in the study were women and 68.4 % were graduate. In addition, their average age was 30.11 ± 8.04 and the year they spent in the profession is 7.74 ± 8.09. It was found that 31.6 % of the nurses donated blood before, 95.9 % did not need blood donation before, 73.6 % received training about blood donation and 13.4 % donated their organs. The total mean score of the BDAS of the individuals participating in the study is 79.74 ± 9.52. The mean scores obtained from the sub-dimensions of social and social responsibility, anxiety, social opinion and understanding are 49.66 ± 6.16, 19.81 ± 5.21 and 10.31 ± 3.65, respectively. Received training on blood donation get higher scores (p < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

Nurses' blood donation attitudes are positive. Training on blood donation and donating organs increases social opinion and understanding in blood donation.

Motivators, barriers and communication channels for blood donation in relation to students at a university in Spain

BACKGROUND

Targeting young people to donate blood is a particularly promising option. The aim of this work was to know the motivators, barriers and preferred communication channels for blood donation among university students, and to determine the factors that explain why donors give blood.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A questionnaire was distributed to 420 students (response rate: 88.3 %) attending the University of Huelva (Spain). Data were gathered on sociodemographic variables, blood donation history, motivators and barriers to donation, and communication channels. Non-parametric contrasts were used to determine possible differences in the sociodemographic characteristics or donation history, and logistic regression to determine the factors associated to donation.

RESULTS

67.38 % of the students surveyed were non-donors, 12.94 % were first-time donors, 11.05 % were infrequent donors and 8.63 % were frequent donors. "Solidarity" was the main motivator for donating blood (40 %). "Lack of information on where and how to give blood" was the main barrier for non-donors (26.4 %), with "medical reasons" cited by first-time donors (22.2 %). 93.8 % of donors wished to be notified about their next donation appointment. The majority of those surveyed preferred e-mail to receive alerts and information on donation campaigns. The factors that explained blood donation were over 26 years of age and place of residence.

CONCLUSION

The study identified differences in the motivators, barriers and choice of communication channel among the university students in terms of blood donation, and the factors that explain blood donation. This knowledge is a useful source of information when designing blood donation campaigns that target young people.

Donor orientation and service quality: Key factors in active blood donors' satisfaction and loyalty

Faced with the increasing demand for blood and greater restrictions on ensuring the safety of transfusions, voluntary donation is currently the only and best alternative for the health system to have a sustainable and safe blood supply. In this context, one of the primary strategies of blood transfusion centres is to increase the satisfaction of their active donors so that they maintain their intention to donate in the future and, in turn, make the necessary recommendations so that third parties can become new donors. That is why this paper raises a question for research concerning, what should the premises be to guide the management of blood transfusion centres to maintain and even increase the satisfaction and loyalty of their active donors? In order to respond to this issue, a change in paradigm is proposed based on a management model supported by donor orientation and service quality as basic pillars, as well as on the development of a number of key social capital resources that explain this orientation toward the donor. In both approaches, the donor becomes the cornerstone of decision-making, moving away from the traditional model which is focused more on achieving targets related to the collection of blood bags. Through the empirical analysis of a sample of 126 employees from various transfusion centres and 26,833 active donors in nine Spanish autonomous communities, we have been able to validate this proposed management model as a useful tool to blood promotion agents in their decision-making processes.

Blood donation among university students: practices, motivations, and barriers in Saudi Arabia

Context:

Blood transfusion is an essential medical procedure conducted with various purposes to provide patients with blood needed. The procedure saves patients’ lives, as blood cannot be manufactured artificially and can only be obtained from human blood sources.

Aims:

To assess the awareness of, perceptions of, motivations regarding, and barriers to blood donation among a sample of Jazan University students in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA).

Settings and Design:

An observational cross-sectional study was conducted among the undergraduate students of Jazan University.

Materials and Methods:

Stratified random sampling was used to collect information from 440 students, and a predesigned, structured questionnaire was used to collect data on the study variables.

Statistical Analysis:

Involved descriptive statistics and inferential statistics. SPSS was used for data analysis.

Results:

The prevalence of blood donation was 29.0% (95% CI, 25.0–33.3), significantly higher for males at 44.3% (95% CI, 38.3–50.4) than for females at 10.5% (95% CI, 7.3–16.0; P < 0.001), and with odds ratio (OR) = 6.8; [95% CI, 4.1–11.2] than females. Students’ level of knowledge regarding blood donation was low. The main barriers to blood donation were identified as being unqualified for blood donation (57.5%) and risk of contracting infectious disease (48.7%) and the desire to donate in the future to a close friend (38.6%). The main motivations for donating blood were identified as religious reasons (77.5%), altruism (77.5%), and to serve the homeland and meet the call of need (77.5%).

Conclusions:

The prevalence of blood donation was found to be low, and students’ knowledge regarding blood donation appeared to be lacking. The development of awareness programs among the university’s students will address students’ misconceptions about blood donation and encourage them to join donation campaigns.

Knowledge level and motivation of Hong Kong young adults towards blood donation: a cross-sectional survey

OBJECTIVES

This study aimed to (1) determine the knowledge level of young adults towards blood donation, and (2) to understand their donor identity and the meanings of blood donation to them.

DESIGN

A questionnaire-based cross-sectional survey.

SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS

Undergraduate students of a university in Hong Kong recruited by convenience sampling, at public facilities in campus such as student canteens and the Campus Blood Donor Centre of the university.

OUTCOME MEASURES

The questionnaire which consisted of three parts was used for data collection. Part 1 collected sociodemographic information and items associated with blood donation; part 2 related to knowledge on blood donation and part 3 focused on blood donor identity. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were conducted to determine the OR and identify the predictors for blood donation.

RESULTS

Among the 542 respondents, 274 were non-blood donors and 268 were blood donors. Blood donors generally have a better knowledge towards blood donation than non-blood donors. The results of univariate analyses indicated that being a female (OR=1.99, p<0.001), aged 22 years or above (OR=234, p<0.001), studying at year 4 or 5 (OR=2.12, p=0.003), studying health-related programmes (OR=1.96, p<0.001), being registered as an organ donor (OR=6.59, p<0.001), had prior experience of receiving blood (OR=7.60, p<0.001) or prior experience of being refused for blood donation (OR=5.14, p<0.001) were significantly associated with being a blood donor. Having prior experience of receiving blood was the strongest predictor for being a blood donor, followed by being registered as an organ donor, after controlling for all other factors in the logistic regression model.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings are consistent with self-determination theory, which hypothesises that people are more likely to abide with blood donation behaviours that are internally rather than externally motivated.

Recruitment strategies: non-donor segmentation based on intrinsic and extrinsic stimuli

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

Non-donor behaviour can be influenced by many variables, both intrinsic and extrinsic, which differ among individuals. The aim of this study was therefore to segment Spanish non-donors based on criteria such as barriers and motivations, which influence the decision to donate for the first time, with the aim of improving the efficiency and effectiveness of recruitment actions.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A total of 2383 non-donors residing in Spain evaluated 21 barriers and 25 motivations through an online self-administered survey distributed by blood transfusion centres, which are responsible for donations in Spain, and several Spanish universities. After validating these scales and determining the underlying categories in each of them, latent class/profile analysis was performed to segment non-donors.

RESULTS

Spanish non-donors were divided into six clusters. According to their barriers and motivations, the following labels were assigned: (1) 'Impure altruists', (2) 'I want to, but make it easy for me', (3) 'Free-riders', (4) 'Reciprocal altruists', (5) 'I can't because I'm scared' and (6) 'I want to, but I can't'. Specific marketing actions were proposed for each cluster based on their characteristics, prioritizing them depending on their attractiveness.

CONCLUSION

The scales which were designed to evaluate barriers and motivations make a solid contribution to the existing literature due to their holistic, integrative nature. The existence of differentiated clusters and the lack of resources of blood transfusion centres make it clear that there is a need to define and implement targeted marketing strategies.

Knowledge, Attitude and Practice Regarding Blood Donation among Graduating Undergraduate Health Science Students at the University of Gondar, Northwest Ethiopia

Background

Blood transfusion is one of the most essential needs to manage patients suffering from various medical conditions. Nowadays, voluntary blood donors are the only source of blood in the blood banks. There is a great need to create awareness among the population at large and students about blood donation to maintain a regular blood supply. Health Science students can be used as best model to lead this initiative. Hence, the aim of this study was to assess the knowledge, attitude and practice regarding blood donation among graduating undergraduate Health Science students.

Methods

A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among graduating undergraduate Health Science students at University of Gondar using structured pre-tested self-administered questionnaire. Stratified sampling technique was employed to select study participants. A total of 225 students participated in the study. Data was entered into and analyzed using SPSS software version 20. Mean score was used to categorize the knowledge and attitude. Binary logistic regression model was fitted to identify factors associated with knowledge, attitude and practice regarding blood donation.

Result

Among 255 undergraduate Health Science graduate students, 123(48.2%) and 202(79.2%) had adequate knowledge about and positive attitude regarding blood donation, respectively. About 12.5% of them had ever donated blood before. Age ≥25 years was significantly associated with practice of blood donation (AOR=4.33; 95%CI: 1.60, 11.76).

Conclusion

Although the majority of the students had positive attitude regarding blood donation, blood donation practice was low. Age was found to be significantly associated with blood donation practice. Targeted strategies should be designed to increase awareness of health science students about blood donation. Strategies which encourage the students to donate blood voluntarily should also be designed.

Nursing students' knowledge and attitudes of blood donation: A multicentre study

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

To investigate factors involved in the blood donation (BD) in a population of Italian nursing students (NSs).

BACKGROUND

Young people are still numerically limited among potential blood donors. Recent research on this topic has underlined the need to promote recruitment programmes and focused advertising campaigns to specific targeted population.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional study. The STROBE checklist was used to grant adequate and complete reporting of research.

METHODS

The study was carried out in five Italian Universities, and a structured, 22-item questionnaire was distributed to 532 NSs (mean age = 24.64, SD = 7.41, min = 19; max = 55; population, female = 80.8% of total) to explore propensity, obstacles, knowledge of BD and to assess associations between variables. Descriptive (frequency, mean and SD) and inferential (χ² ) statistics were conducted.

RESULTS

The overall level of knowledge among NSs donors is high, when compared with non-donors (p < 0.05); the propensity for donation is acceptable (34.8% of the total are donors; mean = 3.17 donation). The obstacles perceived by participants are "practical" (20% and 22.8% think they do not have enough time to donate or are unsuitable because of lifestyle reasons; respectively). A relevant aspect regards the NSs' perceived role as future healthcare professionals to be responsible to educate and influence potential donors (81.5%).

CONCLUSIONS

Specifically tailored BD campaigning should be implemented to sensitise University students. NSs could become effective motivators among students of different Universities or faculties. Thanks to their role and capability to put themselves in the peer group. NSs could contribute to the promotion of this selfless practice and to the development of a mature, responsible civic attitude.

RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE

Nursing educators should play a pivotal role in developing teaching methods to promote BD among NSs.

Are future doctors ready to donate blood and encourage blood donation?

BACKGROUND

Blood donation is the most common method of supplying blood. For maintaining the reliability of the blood supply through donation, the blood should be provided by voluntary, non-profit and regularly donating individuals. It is critical to be aware of the attitudes, behaviors and knowledge levels of the doctors about this issue who will inform and lead people to donate blood. The aim of this study was to determine the current knowledge levels, attitudes, and behaviors of the medical faculty students, who will be future doctors, on blood donation and to investigate whether a change occurs in the these parameters with the initiation of clinical education and training.

METHOD

This descriptive study was conducted by using a questionnaire including a total of 40 questions about blood donation. Chi-square and Mann-Whitney U tests were performed.

RESULTS

The study included 120 students in the third year of the faculty, which is the last preclinical year, and 100 students in the fifth year, which is the second year of clinical education. Of the students, 44.1% were trained for blood donation. The rates of blood donation and promoting people to donate blood were significantly higher in students who had received blood donation training compared to those who had not received such training. Willingness to donate blood and the knowledge levels regarding blood donation were significantly greater among the fifth year students.

CONCLUSION

Efforts for raising the awareness of blood donation together with its training should be increased and popularized in medical faculties.

Individual, contextual and network characteristics of blood donors and non-donors: a systematic review of recent literature

BACKGROUND

The ageing population and recent migration flows may negatively affect the blood supply in the long term, increasing the importance of targeted recruitment and retention strategies to address donors. This review sought to identify individual, network and contextual characteristics related to blood donor status and behaviour, to systematically discuss differences between study results, and to identify possible factors to target in recruitment and retention efforts.

METHODS

The systematic review was conducted in accordance with a predefined PROSPERO protocol (CRD42016039591). After quality assessments by multiple independent raters, a final set of 66 peer-reviewed papers, published between October 2009 and January 2017, were included for review.

RESULTS

Individual and contextual characteristics of blood donor status and behaviour were categorised into five main lines of research: donor demographics, motivations and barriers, adverse reactions and deferral, contextual factors, and blood centre factors. Results on donor demographics, motivations and barriers, and contextual factors were inconclusive, differing between studies, countries, and sample characteristics. Adverse reactions and deferral were negatively related to blood donor behaviour. Blood centre factors play an important role in donor management, e.g., providing information, reminders, and (non-)monetary rewards. No studies were found on network characteristics of (non-)donors.

DISCUSSION

Although individual and contextual characteristics strongly relate to blood donor status and behaviour, mechanisms underlying these relations have not been studied sufficiently. We want to stress the importance of longitudinal studies in donor behaviour, exploring the role of life events and network characteristics within blood donor careers. Increased understanding of donor behaviour will assist policy makers of blood collection agencies, with the ultimate goal of safeguarding a sufficient and matching blood supply.

Knowledge, attitude, and practice towards blood donation among health care providers in hospitals at Bahir Dar City, Ethiopia

Like other sub-Saharan Africa, in Ethiopia there is a shortage of adequate and safe blood supplies. Health care providers are potential resource and promoter of voluntary blood donation. This study was conducted to determine the knowledge, attitude and practice towards blood donation among health care providers in Bahir Dar City, Ethiopia. Paper based questionnaire was distributed to 276 health care providers from May 01 to June 30, 2016. Overall, 42.8% had donated blood at least once. Of these, males accounted for 60%. The median age of blood donors was 26 years. Voluntary-unpaid donation was 21.2%. Overall, 75.5% health care providers were knowledgeable. The levels of knowledge were significantly different among different disciplines (One-way ANOVA; F=69.7; P=0.004). Males were more knowledgeable than females (P<0.05). The overall favorable attitude was 78.6%. Previous practice of blood donation determined the odds of favorable attitude to be a future regular voluntary-unpaid blood donor (OR: 5.7, 95% CI: 3.2-10.4). Majority of health care providers had adequate knowledge and favorable attitude. However, voluntary-unpaid donation practice (21.1%) was lower compared to 100% target of voluntary-unpaid donation. There should be motivation packages to enhance voluntary-unpaid blood donation among health care professionals.