Knowledge, attitudes and practices towards blood donation in Barbados.

OBJECTIVE: To obtain information to devise strategies for a voluntary blood donor mobilisation campaign in Barbados.

BACKGROUND: The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that 100% blood should be collected from voluntary non-remunerated donors (VNRD), yet the majority of blood donations (75%) in Barbados are family/replacement donations. Increasing VNRD is paramount to achieving a safe, reliable blood supply, and understanding the population is a strategy suggested by the WHO to inform donor recruitment and education.

METHODS: Participants in Barbados (n = 429) completed a self-administered questionnaire in 2014. The questionnaire comprised 31 questions, including demographics (age, gender, highest educational attainment) and blood donation-related knowledge, attitudes and practices. Analysis of variance, t-test and linear regression were used to analyse data.

RESULTS: A total of 53% (n = 219) of participants had previously donated blood; almost half were family/replacement donors, and over one-third (36·2%) were lapsed donors and had not donated within the past 2 years. Knowledge deficits included blood donation requirements, deferral factors and maximum yearly donations. Most participants (79%) were willing to donate with more information. Participants with higher educational attainment and previous donors had higher total knowledge and attitude scores (P < 0·01). Single, female and younger participants were less likely to donate blood (P < 0·05).

CONCLUSIONS: Barbados can likely increase voluntary blood donation rates by addressing knowledge deficits through education campaigns and increasing awareness of the need for donation.