sociocultural factors related to blood and platelet donation in an ecuadorian Oncological hospital

Abstract

Donating blood and its blood components is a tool for health institutions, but sometimes it becomes complex due to the lack of donors, within which several factors have been identified that are mainly related to the fear of people because of the myths created around this procedure. The objective of this research is to analyze the sociocultural factors related to blood and platelet donation in an Ecuadorian Oncology Hospital. The research methodology was observational, cross-sectional cohort, descriptive, prospective, with a quantitative approach. We worked with 200 users who attended the health institution in question, who met the selection criteria, to whom a collection instrument was applied. It was found that the majority of participants had a high level of knowledge about blood donation and a positive attitude towards it. However, although willingness toward future donations was high, the frequency of current donation did not show significant differences according to specific time intervals. 82.50% of the participants would be willing to donate blood as a volunteer. Participants showed significant concern about fear of blood collection and poor health status as main barriers to donation. The myths identified in donation were concerns about the spread of diseases and the obligation to continue donating once one has previously donated. Continuous education and training is suggested for both users and health professionals.