Effect of educational interventions addressing blood groups and donation aspects on the knowledge and attitude of allied health sciences students.

Objective: To determine the effect of educational interventions on knowledge and approach of Allied Health Sciences Students regarding blood groups and blood donation.

Methods: It was a cross-sectional study conducted at the department of Hematology and Transfusion Medicine, University of Child Health Sciences, The Children's Hospital, Lahore from October 2022-January 2023. A self-designed questionnaire was used to assess the baseline knowledge of students followed by educational interventions in the form of small group discussions, video lectures and practical demonstrations. Post-interventions assessment was done using the same questionnaire 30 days later. Data obtained was analyzed using SPSS-23 software. A p-Value <0.05 was considered significant. The reliability of the questionnaire was checked after the pilot study by using the SPSS-23 software and calculated Cronbach's Alpha was 0.82.

Results: Of the 99 participants, there were 13 males and 86 females with mean age of 21.41±1.478 years. Pre-interventions, majority participants had moderate knowledge (81.8%). Medical Lab technologists showed better baseline knowledge than the rest. Post-interventions, the level of knowledge among students increased to 94.9%. Pre-interventions, knowledge about blood groups and donation ranged from 14.1-79% and 25.5-77.8% correct responses respectively while post-interventions it went up to 92-100% for both aspects. The willingness to donate blood in future raised from 46.4% to 92.9%.

Conclusions: Educational interventions were effective in improving the knowledge of Allied Health Sciences students about blood groups and blood donation. The enlightenment strategies positively influenced students towards the active participation in blood donation campaigns.