Knowledge about blood donation in patients of a hospital in Amazonas, Peru

Abstract

This study aimed to determine the level of knowledge about blood donation among outpatients from a hospital in Bagua Grande. A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted from May to July 2019. We developed and applied a structured questionnaire. A total of 244 outpatients were recruited through systematic sampling. Participants obtained a mean number of correct answers of 8.90 (SD: 3.25) points out of 21. Age and educational level were found to be correlated with the score (rho = -0.21; p < 0.001 and rho = 0.38; p < 0.001, respectively). Place of origin and occupation affected the score (p < 0.001). We found a low level of knowledge in the studied population, but this would not be related to previous history of donation. Interventions to improve blood donation should not only focus on providing knowledge, since other factors would be more related to this result.