Motivating first-time, group O blood donors to return: Rationale and design of a randomized controlled trial of a post-donation telephone interview

Abstract

First-time blood donors are essential to the US donor pool, providing nearly a third of all donations. Unfortunately, there are a wide variety of obstacles to repeat donation and new donors are extremely difficult to retain. Because each donor experiences a unique set of deterrents, we developed a post-donation interview based on motivational interview principles in order to flexibly address individual barriers. The primary aim of this randomized clinical trial is to examine retention of first-time, group O blood donors who are randomly assigned to receive either a telephone-delivered interview with motivational and action planning components or a standard-of-care control call approximately six weeks after their donation. Measures of donation attitude, perceived behavioral control, intention, and motivational autonomy will be measured before and after the telephone contact using online surveys, and donation attempts will be tracked for one year using blood center donor databases. We hypothesize that, compared to controls, donors who receive the telephone interview will be more likely to make a donation attempt over the following year. In addition, we will examine possible mechanisms of action of the interview using key predictors of donation behavior as described by Self Determination Theory (i.e., motivational autonomy) and the Theory of Planned Behavior (i.e., attitude, perceived behavioral control, and intention). Results of this intervention may help to support a novel strategy to enhance retention of selected blood donors in an effort to better meet the nation’s blood supply needs.

A brief motivational interview with action and coping planning components enhances motivational autonomy among volunteer blood donors

“…These procedures were approved by the institutional review boards of Ohio University, New York Blood Center, and the University of Cincinnati. The study was registered with http://ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT02274064) and additional study detail is available from a published protocol …”

Online responses to motivational interview questions enhance blood donation intention

“…The content was guided by a standardized script that encouraged donors to explore intrinsic and extrinsic motivations for giving blood, identify concerns or barriers to future donation, and engage in individualized problem solving to address any perceived concerns or barriers. In a subsequent study of first‐time donors, participation in the interview promoted larger decreases in donation‐related anxiety, larger increases in donation confidence and intention, and a shift toward more self‐determined (i.e., internal) motivation to donate . Further, donors with high internal motivation who completed the interview showed higher repeat donation rates in the following year …”

A motivational interview promotes retention of blood donors with high internal motivation

“…Full details regarding the study design are provided in prior reports . Therefore, the following text briefly outlines the study design and provides novel information regarding the assessment of follow‐up donation attempts.…”

“…Results of this study demonstrated that, compared with a no‐contact control group, participants in the motivational interview group had a significantly higher rate of repeat donation attempts within a 12‐month follow‐up period (67 vs 44%). More recently, the psychological effects of a motivational interview call were compared with a control phone call among participants who completed their first donation at New York Blood Center or Hoxworth Blood Center . Comparison of psychological measures administered approximately 3 weeks before and 1 week after the calls revealed that participation in the motivational interview was associated with significantly larger decreases in anxiety and significantly larger increases in confidence, intention, and internal motivation to donate blood relative to controls.…”