Contribution of attitudinal factors to blood donation in African American church attendees

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Historically, African Americans have a general mistrust for the health care system that has contributed to significant health disparities. The goal of this study was to evaluate whether this distrust among African Americans affects attitudes toward blood donation. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: Fifteen African American churches in metropolitan Atlanta participated in an 81-item self-administered survey. The questionnaire assessed barriers and motivators for, and knowledge and beliefs about, blood donation in African Americans. Bivariate analysis and logistic regression models were performed. RESULTS: A total of 930 individuals responded to the survey. This group was 99% African Americans, 71% female, and 84% college educated, 54% with a household income of at least $50,000 and mean age of 47±14 years. Donation history was 3% current donors, 46% lapsed donors, and 40% nondonors. Respondents who trusted versus distrusted hospitals had more knowledge of the blood supply and less fear of donation and were more likely to respond to blood needs of the community. In a multivariate logistic regression model, donors were more likely to trust hospitals (p=0.003) and were more likely to have participated in research (p<0.001) than nondonors. CONCLUSION: African American distrust of the health care system is associated with decreased likelihood of previous blood donation. This may be secondary to donor centers being viewed as a component of the health care system. Building trust between donor centers and African American community by ensuring the safety of donation may increase African American blood donation rates.

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