This thesis aims to offer a comprehensive understanding of the multifaceted factors that drive blood donation, by dissecting existing international literature and considering various research categories, thus painting a detailed landscape of the current insights in this field.
Blood is a valuable and irreplaceable healthcare resource used in various medical services ranging from surgeries and childbirth to treating cancer and other blood diseases. Despite its importance, its supply precariously relies on voluntary donations. By taking a systematic international approach to the existing literature, this thesis endeavors to report and comment on its findings unbiasedly and inclusively. It borrows six categories of existing research from previous scholarship: (1) Theory of Planned Behavior, (2) prosocial motivation, (3) affective expectations, (4) donor site experience, (5) past donation behavior, and (6) donor demographics. A combination of phrases and Boolean operators was queried to various databases, and the subsequent findings were then systematically whittled down to 22 relevant works. These studies can be thought of as driven by three goals: 1) explaining what motivates the act of donation, often in a specific sample used to describe a local or national majority population, 2) understanding the motivations for repeat donation, or 3) exploring the motivations of ethnic minority populations with lower donation rates than the majority. These studies often employed the Theory of Planned Behavior and found that perceived control, external and internal was important in crafting donation intentions. Attitudes, especially those about the possible emotional results of donation, were also important. Among those considering prosocial motivations, barriers related to expected pain, fainting, or inconvenience hold potential donors back. However, some authors argued that highly motivated individuals could overcome barriers related to external control. Adverse reactions to donations are both a source of anxiety for non-donors and a reason for some donors to lapse. Affective expectations are related to those fears and experiences. Demographics have some impact, especially with women appearing more motivated to donate and more likely to express concerns about fainting. [...]
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Conceptual Background
2.1. Medical Donation: Blood
2.2. Global Overview and Trends in Blood Donation
2.3. Behavioral Theory
2.4. Blood Donation Behavior
3. Method
3.1. Search Strategy
3.2. Study Selection
3.3. Data Extraction
3.4. Quality Description
4. Results
4.1. Studies Exploring Motivations in General
4.2. Studies Exploring Motivations for Repeat Donation
4.3. Studies Exploring Motivations of Ethnic Minority Populations
5. Discussion
6. Conclusion
7. Bibliography
8. Appendix
Research Objectives and Focus Areas
This thesis aims to explore, identify, and describe the impact of various behavioral aspects on blood donation behavior, with the ultimate goal of improving the understanding of how to overcome blood supply challenges and encourage donor retention through an international systematic literature review.
- The role of the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) in shaping donation intentions.
- Prosocial motivations, including altruism, obligation, and perceived emotional outcomes of donation.
- The influence of past donation experiences and donor site interactions on the likelihood of repeat donations.
- Demographic factors, such as age, gender, and ethnicity, and their correlation with donation willingness and barriers.
- Challenges related to donor recruitment, particularly within ethnic minority populations and among first-time donors.
Excerpt from the Book
2.3. Behavioral Theory
Behavioral theory, also known as behavioral psychology or behaviorism, represents an approach to explaining human actions (human behaviors) and is based on the premise that behaviors are a product of conditioning and environmental stimuli (Angell, 2013). This view was first articulated by John B. Watson in 1913 when he published his now seminal article "Psychology as the Behaviorist Views It." The article is a response to what was then the mainstream of psychology which Watson viewed as a counterproductive obsession with consciousness and introspection. According to him, the field had "enmeshed itself in a series of speculative questions, which, while fundamental to its present tenets, are not open to experimental treatment." (Watson, 1913, p. 176). Instead of looking at an organism's mental state and investigating what internal and unknowable mechanism led to it, Watson believes that psychology should explain behaviors by empirically studying the impact of natural and observable stimuli. Behaviorists aim to predict and control human activity and, therefore, must understand behavior driven by stimulus-response mechanisms. Watson describes the stimulus as an object in the organism's environment and its response as its reaction to it (Watson, 1925, p. 12).
His theory is an example of what we call Methodological Behaviorism and is based on classical conditioning, which focuses on pure association, specifically on how stimuli seen in a current experiment elicit a response. Through classical conditioning, an organism internalizes an association between a neutral and an unconditioned stimulus, triggering an involuntary, unconditioned response such as a biological or emotional reaction. Eventually, the neutral stimulus evokes the same reaction as the unconditioned response, even when the unconditioned stimulus is revoked. The result of constant repetition is that a subject learns to associate two unrelated stimuli, namely a conditioned stimulus and a conditioned response; the more the association is trained, the longer it will last (Mcleod, S. – Simply Psychology, 2023).
Summary of Chapters
1. Introduction: Presents the global necessity of blood donations and outlines the thesis's purpose to identify behavioral drivers of donation through a systematic literature review.
2. Conceptual Background: Provides foundational knowledge on medical blood donation, global donation trends, and core behavioral theories that underpin donation decisions.
3. Method: Describes the systematic literature review methodology, including search strategies across multiple databases, study selection criteria, and quality assessment tools used.
4. Results: Summarizes the findings of the 22 selected studies, categorized by motivations in general, repeat donation factors, and specific considerations for ethnic minority groups.
5. Discussion: Evaluates the synthesized evidence, identifying the reliability of existing models like TPB and prosocial motivation in the context of global donor behavior.
6. Conclusion: Restates the study's central insights, confirming the critical role of understanding barriers and motivators to ensure a stable, adequate blood supply.
7. Bibliography: Lists all academic and institutional sources referenced throughout the systematic review.
8. Appendix: Contains a structured overview of all 22 studies included in the systematic review for reference.
Keywords
Blood donation, Behavioral theory, Systematic literature review, Theory of Planned Behavior, Prosocial motivation, Donor retention, Donor recruitment, Medical sociology, Public health, Healthcare resources, Donor demographics, Altruism, Psychological barriers, Blood supply management, Donor experience
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core focus of this research paper?
The paper focuses on identifying the behavioral drivers that impact individual decisions to donate blood, aiming to provide insights that could improve donor recruitment and retention strategies.
What are the primary thematic areas investigated?
The research examines six main categories: the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), internal prosocial motivations, affective expectations, the impact of donor site experiences, past donation behavior history, and donor demographics.
What is the central research question?
The central question driving this thesis is: "Which behavioral aspects drive blood donation?"
Which scientific methodology does the author employ?
The author conducts a systematic literature review following PRISMA guidelines to identify, select, and critically appraise existing empirical studies in order to synthesize current knowledge on the topic.
What aspects are included in the main body of the paper?
The main body covers the conceptual background of blood donation, a detailed method section, a presentation of the results from 22 selected studies, and a discussion regarding the applicability of existing behavioral psychological models.
Which keywords best characterize this work?
Key terms include blood donation, Behavioral theory, donor retention, Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), prosocial motivation, and systematic literature review.
How do donor motivations change as a person continues their "donor career"?
The review indicates that motivations can evolve as donors move through stages, though this does not consistently translate into predictable changes in donation intention strength once a certain threshold is passed.
Why is it difficult to apply a single behavioral model to all blood donors?
The research suggests that because donors come from diverse socio-economic and cultural backgrounds, no single "correct" lens fully captures the multifaceted nature of donation behavior across different contexts.
- Arbeit zitieren
- Madline Ehrentraut (Autor:in), 2023, The Effects of Behavioral Aspects on Blood Donation. An International Systematic Literature Review, München, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/1394650
