Abstract
Objective
To assess the level of knowledge of nursing students regarding blood donation, to identify the importance consider challenges for blood donation, and to determine the most used digital communication channels.
Methods
This research was performed at University of Central Portugal in 2018/2019. This was a descriptive cross-sectional study. A total of 165 nursing students completed online two ad hoc questionnaires.
Results
The level of knowledge can be classified as very low (interval between donations, waiting time after getting a tattoo or piercing, waiting time after taking iron supplements), low (amount of blood, eating before donation), medium (age and minimum weight, universal donor) and high (cases in which the blood was analyzed). The reasons for not donating blood that gained considerable and great importance were: “Because I have a physical or medical condition that makes me ineligible to donate” and “Because I had a risky sexual behavior”.
Conclusion
The lack of knowledge about the eligibility requirements can make someone wrongly consider that he or she cannot donate blood. Considering the results obtained and the access to digital communication channels, the implementation of eHealth programs is recommended to promote more knowledge, and to reduce the barriers for blood donation.
Blood donors; Students, nursing; Education, higher; Health knowledge, attitudes, practice