Assessment of Knowledge, Attitude, Practice, and Associated Factors of Voluntary Blood Donation in Selected Towns of Awi Zone, Injibara, Ethiopia

Abstract

Background: Blood donation is the process of collecting blood from donors who are at low risk for infection and are unlikely to jeopardize their health by blood donation. It is a lifesaving practice for people who have lost ample volumes of blood as a result of accidents, obstetric and gynecological bleeding, severe anemia, and cancer.Aim: This study is aimed at assessing knowledge, attitude, practice, and associated factors toward voluntary blood donation in Chagni, Dangila, Injibara, and Jawi towns.Subject and Methods: A community‐based cross‐sectional study design and multistage sampling technique were employed. The data was analyzed using SPSS version 26. Both descriptive statistics and the multivariate logistic regression model were employed to determine the significance. The association between blood donation knowledge, attitude, practice, and sociodemographic variables was tested using multivariate logistic regression.Results: In Chagni, 110 (55.6%), Dangila, 162 (79.0%), Injibara, 139 (73.5%), and Jawi, 165 (64.5%), towns had adequate knowledge regarding voluntary blood donation. In Chagni, 141 (74.6%), Dangila, 170 (66.4%), Injibara, 168 (82.0%), and Jawi, 148 (74.7%), towns had an adequate attitude regarding voluntary blood donation. In Chagni, 28 (14.1%), Dangila (15.3%), Injibara (29.3%), and Jawi (12.3%), towns practiced voluntary blood donation. Respondents’ sex, education level, and age were found to be significantly associated with knowledge, attitude, and practice of blood donation. Those who had a degree and above were more likely (AOR = 9.239, 5.789, 5.468, and 9.72 at 95% CI) to know about blood donation relative to those who could not read and write in Chagni, Dangila, Injibara, and Jawi, respectively.Conclusion: The majority of respondents had adequate knowledge and attitudes toward blood donation but had lower practices toward voluntary blood donation.