Mixed-methods exploration of the knowledge of young adults about blood donation processes; a one-center cross-sectional study in a tertiary institution.

Autor: Baidoo B; Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, School of Allied Health, Sciences College of Health and Allied Sciences, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana., Ankomah E; Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, School of Allied Health, Sciences College of Health and Allied Sciences, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana., Alhassan M; Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, School of Allied Health, Sciences College of Health and Allied Sciences, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana., Benya G; Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, School of Allied Health, Sciences College of Health and Allied Sciences, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana., Obike E; Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, School of Allied Health, Sciences College of Health and Allied Sciences, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana., Benfo A; Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, School of Allied Health, Sciences College of Health and Allied Sciences, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana., Boachie J; Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, School of Allied Health, Sciences College of Health and Allied Sciences, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana., Adu P; Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, School of Allied Health, Sciences College of Health and Allied Sciences, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: PloS one [PLoS One] 2024 Jan 05; Vol. 19 (1), pp. e0295600. Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 Jan 05 (Print Publication: 2024).
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0295600
Abstrakt: Ghana is a majority youthful population, but is only able to meet 60% of its annual blood donation requirements. Although tertiary students in Ghana may serve as important blood donor resource by virtue of their higher educational attainment, data about their blood donation processes-specific knowledge are scarce. This study therefore explored the perspectives, and experiences of young adults regarding blood donation processes. This exploratory study employed mixed-methods approach (semi-structured questionnaire and focus group discussion, [FGD]). Data collection was sequential; the questionnaire distribution was completed before FGD commenced; themes that emerged from the questionnaire responses guided FGDs. Convenience sampling technique was used to recruit 382 young adults (15-49 years). All statistical analyses were undertaken using the two-tail assumptions; p<0.05 was considered statistically significant. Majority (79.3%) of the participants were in their twenties, with only 1.3% being 40-49 years old. Although two-thirds of participants expressed willingness to donate blood, less than a-third (31.7%; 127/382) had previously donated blood. Overall, less than one-third of participants could correctly identify the minimum weight (26.4%), or the inter-donation interval (14.7%); 37.4% and 58.1% could respectively indicate the required donor age or ≥3 infectious agents screened for prior to blood collection. Among previous donors, 37.2%, 28.1% and 43.0% could identify the required weight, acceptable inter-donation period, and donor age respectively. Two-thirds and a-third of participants preferred voluntary unrelated, and paid donations respectively. Whereas 42.4% of participants indicated intrinsic health benefits of blood donation, 17.0% suggested that blood donation was associated with disease risks. Both previous donors and non-donor groups considered lack of education, fear of post-donation health issues and lack of privacy at blood collection centers as main hindrances to donor recruitment. Targeted intentional blood donation-specific educational campaigns are warranted to address the blood donation processes knowledge gap among the study population.
Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
(Copyright: © 2024 Baidoo et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
Externí odkaz:
Nepřihlášeným uživatelům se plný text nezobrazuje