Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of Blood Donation Among Health Science Students at Kathmandu: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Introduction: Globally, blood donation saves millions of lives each year, and has a vital public health concern for society. The blood donation rate is low in developing countries as compared to middle- and high-income countries. The task of recruiting voluntary blood donors remains one of the major challenges for any transfusion service. This study aimed to determine the knowledge, attitude, and practice of undergraduate health sciences students towards blood donation.

Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among 216 certificate level health sciences students using a structured self-administered questionnaire. It included socio-demographic measures of the respondents and their knowledge, attitude, and practices regarding blood donation. An ethical approval letter was taken before conducting the research. Data were edited and analyzed using SPSS software 16.0 version.

Result: Majority (62.2%) of the participant was from the 16-19 age group, with male:female ratio of 1.33. The majority (62%) of the participants had adequate knowledge of blood donation. The questionnaire showed that 97% of students had a positive attitude towards blood donation, and most of the participants (90%) showed a willingness to donate blood. But there were poor practices (27.7%) related to blood donation in our study. The most common barriers of the practice by the students were fear of needle, not getting enough time, and not showing interest in donation.

Conclusions: Although participants had good knowledge and attitude towards blood donation, they had a low level of practice. Fear of needles, not getting time, and not showing interest in blood donation are the barriers to blood donation. Therefore, to increase the practice of blood donation, along with increasing awareness and motivation, stakeholders should focus on addressing the barriers of donation practice.