New to the field of blood donation and don't know where to begin or what works?

Then you should take a look at this literature review by Tjeerd, Rene, Elisabeth, Wim and Eva - Individual, contextual and network characteristics of blood donors and non-donors: a systematic review of recent literature

Don't have time? Here are some important takeaways:

for Blood Banks

• Blood banks need to create more tailored recruitment and retention campaigns for different socio-demographic groups addressing specific characteristic barriers and motivations that are particular for these segments.

• Providing information and reminders are effective ways to boost attendance rates.

• Adverse reactions (eg. fainting) and deferral are negatively correlated to blood donation.

💡 Tip: There is a section called blood centre factors - you'll read there that not only offering the information to donors is relevant but also how you phrase it, what is the impact of waiting time on donation and what is the effect of phone call reminders.

for Researchers

• There are 5 main lines of research in the domain: donor demographics, motivations and barriers, adverse reaction and deferral, contextual factors and blood centre factors.

• No studies were found on the network characteristics of donors and non-donors

• The authors stress the importance of longitudinal studies that explore the evolution of donor behaviour and motivation across one's donor career

💡 Tip: You don't know what your next article should be about? Then check the Future Research Section, you'll find there 3 suggestions that may help you kick up your next project

CHECK THE FULL ARTICLE HERE