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Fear of blood, injections and fainting as barriers to blood donation in Brazil
Author(s) -
Zucoloto Miriane Lucindo,
Gonçalez Thelma,
Menezes Neia Prata,
McFarland Willi,
Custer Brian,
Martinez Edson Zangiacomi
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
vox sanguinis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.68
H-Index - 83
eISSN - 1423-0410
pISSN - 0042-9007
DOI - 10.1111/vox.12728
Subject(s) - fainting , medicine , blood donor , donation , health care , socioeconomic status , family medicine , demography , environmental health , population , immunology , sociology , economics , economic growth
Background and objectives The objective of the present study was to investigate the fear of blood, injections and fainting as barriers to blood donation in a sample of primary healthcare users in a Brazilian municipality. Materials and Methods This is a cross‐sectional survey of primary care patients in 12 randomly selected healthcare facilities in Ribeirão Preto, Brazil in 2015–2016. Key variables were lifetime blood donation history, intentions to donate blood among non‐donors and current donation practice. To assess fear of blood in general ( FBG ), fear of injections in general ( FIG ) and fear of fainting due to fear of injection ( FFI ), we used the Blood Injection/Fear Scale ( BIFS ). We tested associations between variables using regression models and conditional inference trees ( CIT ). Results A total of 1055 primary healthcare users participated (79·7% female, mean age 40·6 years [ SD = 15·2]), 63·4% never donated blood, 13·3% reported they are unable to donate, 6·1% donated only once, 17·2% donated multiple times. Women had higher scores for FIG and FBG . FFI was associated with middle socioeconomic status. Those who never intended to donate exhibited the highest scores in the three dimension of fear. By CIT analysis, being female and high scores for FBG are associated with decreased blood donation. Among males, blood donation frequency is low among those aged 33 years and under. Conclusion Fear of blood, injections and fainting are barriers to blood donation in Brazil. Efforts to recruit and retain blood donors should convey information on blood donation processes and address misconceptions that may increase fear.