Knowledge, Attitude and Practices of Blood Transfusion among Health Workers in a Teaching Hospital in Lagos, Nigeria

Abstract

While efforts remain ongoing globally to find a perfect synthetic alternative to blood and blood products, blood transfusion is still the standard of care for managing patients with several conditions. Low- and middle-income countries like Nigeria lag the rest of the world in annual blood donations to meet the country's blood need. Healthcare professionals are central to voluntary blood donation services worldwide and are a potential blood donor pool. This study therefore, examined healthcare professionals in a tertiary centre in Lagos, Nigeria to document their knowledge of, and attitude towards blood donation and blood donation practices. This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Lagos, Nigeria. Study participants included 155 medical doctors, 117 nurses, 17 pharmacists and 38 Laboratory scientists recruited using a stratified sampling technique. Data were obtained from participants using a pre-tested, predesign study proforma and analysed using IBM SPSS statistics, version 25. The level of statistical significance was set as a p <0.05 (95% confidence interval). The mean (SD) age of study participants was 33.54 ± 9.1 years. The overall mean knowledge score was 65.8% ± 11.0 (CI= 63.4-70.7). Post hoc analysis (Bonferroni) showed a significant difference in mean knowledge scores depending on the type of health worker reviewed. Overall attitude score was 70.0% ± 9.8 (CI=68.9%-71.1%). Consultants had the highest attitude score, and scores appear to decline from consultants to medical interns and nurses. Mean attitudinal score was higher in those with adequate knowledge (n = 291, 70.5%) compared with those with inadequate knowledge (n=24, 63.9%), P =0.001. Regarding practice, 38.9% had donated blood in the past. Of these, 59 (47.6%) were voluntary donors and had donated 2-4 times. This study still revealed significant deficiencies in healthcare professionals' knowledge, attitude, and practices toward blood transfusion, which must be addressed to improve blood donations and save lives.