Raise of Awareness for Blood Donation Campaigns on University Campuses in Lima, Peru

Abstract

This is a descriptive study aimed to know the knowledge that the university students have about blood donation. A study from the US shows that people with tertiary education have more probability to donate blood [1]. The sampled population consisted in students of two universities studying Science, Engineering and Biology. A total of 114 individuals were approached of which 19 did not wish to proceed or did not complete the questionnaire leaving a total of 95 study participants. The questionnaire was divided into three sections. The first section refers to the potential benefits of blood donation and asks participants about their views on 23 benefit statements. Each statement has been assessed by an average of 43 individuals with approval scores of 75%. Of the study population it was found that 80% did not have prior knowledge of the benefits of blood donation. The second part contained 15 questions designed to identify if participants' are eligible or not for blood donation. It was found that 47%, 35%, and 18% of participants were eligible, not eligible, or undetermined for donating blood respectively. The third section of the questionnaire identifies the participants' willingness to donate blood following exposure to information on its potential benefits. It was found that 52.63%, 38.95%, and 8.42 % of participants had the same, more, or less willingness after exposure to information than before the questionnaire respectively. The results show us that it is possible to influence the target population's will to donate blood after their exposure to acknowledge the blood donation benefits. The statements, about blood donation benefits, with higher score were chosen. The ultimate goal of this study is to raise awareness of blood donation and to increase participation during campaigns on university campuses. The research group keeps working on preventive health and changing the picture of voluntary blood donation.