KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDE AND PRACTICE OF BLOOD DONATION AMONG ATTENDANTS IN ST.PAUL’S HOSPITAL

Abstract

ABSTRACT Background: Blood donation is a voluntary procedure. You agree to have blood drawn so that it can be given to someone who needs a blood transfusion. Millions of people need blood transfusions each year. Without a sufficient amount of blood, the cells of the human body could not receive adequate oxygen and nutrients they need to survive. Blood transfusion saves lives and improves health, but many patients requiring transfusion do not have timely access to safe blood. In addition to this it gives personal satisfaction and there are many health benefits of donating blood. Objectives: The aim of the study is to explore the knowledge, attitudes, and practice towards blood donation among attendants in St.Paul’s Hospital. In addition to identify the factors hindering voluntary blood donation, the obstacles and difficulties facing the individuals and to suggest possible motivational factors that can improve the donation process in the future. Method: A cross sectional study was carried out in st.paul’s hospital. The study population was selected among the attendants of patients in st.paul’s hospital. The sampling technique is random sampling. A structured questionnaire was administered in English as well as Amharic translation and data analysis was carried out using SPSS. Result: A total of 239 respondents participated in the study. The median age of respondents was found to be 31 years. 129 (54.0%) of the study participants were females. Majority of participants 82.8% had good knowledge about blood donation, 72.4% of them had favorable attitude while only 15.5% had practice of donation. Conclusion and Recommendation: The level of knowledge on blood donation is relatively high which 82.8% is. Beside this, significant number of participants in this study have good attitude towards blood donation. The Hospital should establish its own blood donation focal point. And also should be working on VBD by using mass media and school health education to encourage people to donate blood regularly and solve shortage blood in the country. Further study needs to be conducted to explore factors associated with blood donors.