Assessment of knowledge, attitude, and practice among health professionals in an oncological hospital on voluntary blood donation - Investigating their participation in programs to promote blood donation

• Main Author: Eugenia Kouka
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications 2021-01-01
• Series: Global Journal of Transfusion Medicine
• Subjects: attitude; blood donation; knowledge; practice
• Online Access: http://www.gjtmonline.com/article.asp?issn=2468-8398;year=2021;volume=6;issue=1;spage=6;epage=14;aulast=Kouka

Background and Objectives: Greece, despite its relative blood sufficiency and high international ranking in terms of the number of blood donors compared to its population, faces significant challenges due to the low rate of voluntary blood donors, as well as the demographic aging of the population in the medium to longer term. The purpose of the study is to evaluate the knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) of health professionals at the Oncological Hospital “Metaxa” in Greece, regarding voluntary blood donation (VBD). The objective of this research is to investigate the effect of sociodemographic characteristics of health professionals as regards KAP on VBD and to find factors related to their participation in VBD promotion policies. Methods: The study was based on the review of the relevant literature, followed by empirical research employing the KAP model. The study was conducted on 254 health professionals of the Oncological Hospital “Metaxa.” in the period December 20, 2019 to March 3, 2020, using a questionnaire. The data were analyzed using SPSS version 21 with P value set at 0.05 for statistical significance. Results: The research findings indicate a high score in the knowledge and attitudes of health professionals regarding blood donation (BD), but low performance in the practice. BD correlates to knowledge and attitudes as well as gender. The majority of the health professionals responded positively in terms of their participation in BD programs. Gender, age, professional position, and years of service were associated with participation in BD programs. Conclusions: The results of the research justify the possibility of activating health professionals in policies to promote VBD, to the extent that due to their knowledge and positive attitude regarding BD, they can promote VBD in different population groups and ultimately contribute to an increase in the size of blood supply.