Assessment of Knowledge, Attitude and Practice Regarding Blood Donation among Paramedical Personnel in a Teaching Hospital, Hassan, Karnataka

Abstract

Background: Voluntary, non -remunerated blood donation is the foundation for safe and sustainable blood supply. Health care providers, especially non physician personnel or paramedical personnel, play an important role in motivating and promoting blood donation as they come more in contact with public as representatives of the health system and hence need to possess a comprehensive and accurate knowledge regarding blood donation. Methodology: A Cross-sectional study was conducted to assess the knowledge of blood donation among 285 paramedical personnel working in Hassan institute of medical sciences, Karnataka which is a tertiary care teaching hospital. A pretested Questionnaire regarding blood donation KAP (knowledge, attitude and practice) were administered to all the paramedical personnel who consented to take part in the study after adequate sample size estimation. Results: More than 90% of staff had good knowledge regarding the blood groups and the eligibility criteria. 253 (88.8%) respondents considered blood donation as good and 205(71.9%) believed it was safe to donate blood but in practice only 116(40.7%) had ever donated blood. Male workers were more likely to donate blood (p<0.0001) Conclusion : It was observed that although there is a reasonably good level of knowledge and positive attitude among the paramedical personnel, the practice of donating blood was not adequate, especially that of regular voluntary donation. Hence it is important to conduct sensitization programs to improve practice of blood donation and various incentives as suggested by the staff themselves and several international bodies maybe considered to promote blood donation among them.