| Summary: | A research report submitted to the Faculty of Health
Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, in partial
fulfilment for the degree of Master of Medicine in Internal
Medicine. Johannesburg, 2017. === Background
Rational and appropriate use of blood and blood products is important in a resource
limited setting. Proper education is required in decision-making and management
with regard to blood transfusion. Current knowledge status is required in order to
identify target areas of teaching.
Objective
To assess the knowledge regarding blood and blood products among doctors of
varying ranks at the University of the Witwatersrand affiliated academic hospitals.
Research design and methods
This is an observational, descriptive study using a self-administered questionnaire.
The questionnaire was divided into sections covering areas of red blood cells,
platelets, plasma products, consent, blood ordering and side effects with a total of 40
questions, approximately equally distributed in each of the above sections. A section
on the demographics of the participants as well as an opinion section of how to impart
further information was also included comprising of 2 questions each.
Results
A response rate of 33% was obtained from the distributed questionnaires. The average
score obtained for the questionnaire was 61% amongst all the doctors. The consultants
achieved the highest score of 64%. In comparison, the interns, who averaged 56%,
achieved the lowest score. The medical officers and registrars both averaged 63%.
The community service doctors averaged 58%. A similar gradient was seen across the
different sections of the questionnaire.
Participants scored the best in the section pertaining to ‘consent’ with a score of 87%.
The next best score (64%) was achieved for the section regarding ‘side effects’. The
section regarding ‘red blood cell usage’ and ‘blood product ordering’ was scored at
60%. The section with regards to ‘platelets usage’ achieved a score of 44%. The
lowest score was achieved in the section regarding ‘plasma product usage’, i.e. 30%.
A statistically significant gap in knowledge was noted from intern up to medical
officer level, after which the increase in knowledge up to consultant level was not
found to be statistically significant.
Conclusions
The overall results obtained appear to be suboptimal and can be improved upon
significantly. Formalized and on-going teaching around blood and blood product
usage is required at the University of the Witwatersrand affiliated hospitals, at all
levels, from interns through to consultants to ensure that this scarce, but invaluable
resource is used judiciously and appropriately. === LG2018
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