Influence of risk perception on attitudes toward blood donation among Brazilian men who have sex with men who donated blood

Abstract

Background We hypothesize that awareness of individuals' risk behaviors may influence aspects of attitude toward blood donation (i.e., intentions and self‐efficacy). Investigating this association in the population of MSM was the objective of the present study. Study Design and Methods This is a cross‐sectional study based on an open web survey. The online survey was developed and applied on the Research Electronic Data Capture (REDCap) platform. The study's information, invitation to participate, and link to access the online survey were disseminated using social media. Analyses were performed using structural equation modeling. Results A total of 764 young adults MSM participated, with the majority self‐reporting as homosexual, single, in good health, and having completed higher education. A total of 297 (39.5%) reported having donated blood at least once in their lives. Among blood donors, 72.0% admitted to lying about their sexual behavior during the blood donation clinical screening interview; 81.0% did not believe that their behaviors put them at risk for HIV infection; 83.7% believed that their blood is safe enough to be transfused. Structural equation analysis provided evidence that the perception of being at risk for HIV and the perception of having non‐safe blood to be transfused contributed to an attitude against future blood donation (explained variance 50%). Discussion Attitude plays an important role in blood donation decision‐making by young adults MSM. This is the first study to provide evidence that the self‐perceptions of being at risk for HIV and having non‐safe blood may deter MSM from blood donation.