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Predicting blood donation maintenance: the importance of planning future donations
Author(s) -
Dongen Anne,
Ruiter Robert,
Abraham Charles,
Veldhuizen Ingrid
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
transfusion
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.045
H-Index - 132
eISSN - 1537-2995
pISSN - 0041-1132
DOI - 10.1111/trf.12397
Subject(s) - donation , deferral , medicine , logistic regression , odds ratio , confidence interval , blood donor , psychological intervention , anxiety , finance , nursing , business , psychiatry , economics , immunology , economic growth
Background Interventions to retain blood donors need to target the most influential and changeable factors. This study tested antecedents of three successive donation decisions. Study Design and Methods Participants were donors who had donated for the first time 1 year previous (n = 1018). Intention to continue donating, vasovagal reactions, deferral, anxiety, and planning failure were measured. Analyses distinguished between 1) those who registered for donation after questionnaire completion, versus those who did not; 2) those who did or did not register for donation a second time after questionnaire completion; and 3) those who did or did not register for donation a third time after questionnaire completion. Results Three logistic regression analyses showed that the first donation decision was influenced by intention (odds ratio [ OR ], 1.70; 95% confidence interval [ CI ], 1.30‐2.21), number of donations made in the first year ( OR , 2.35; 95% CI , 1.81‐3.06), vasovagal reactions ( OR , 0.92; 95% CI , 0.87‐0.97), and planning failure ( OR , 0.81; 95% CI , 0.70‐0.95). The second donation decision was influenced by intention ( OR , 1.44; 95% CI , 1.06‐1.95) and planning failure ( OR , 0.67; 95% CI , 0.57‐0.78), while the third decision was influenced only by planning failure ( OR , 0.85; 95% CI , 0.73‐1.00). Conclusion This indicates that for new donors, retention efforts should focus on the promotion of a positive intention and decreasing vasovagal reactions. However, decreasing planning failure could be an even better investment since planning seems to determine long‐term retention.