Blood donation among women in Nigeria: Motivators, barriers and appealing incentives

Women are grossly under-represented among blood donors in Nigeria. We, therefore, determined the barriers, motivators and appealing incentives to blood donation among women in Nigeria.

This was an internet-based cross-sectional study among women aged 18-65 years. A well-structured questionnaire was used to determine sociodemographic characteristics, motivation, barriers and appealing incentives. Motivational and barrier differences in some sociodemographic characteristics were determined using the chi-squared test. A p-value of 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

The most common motivators among blood donors were 'when family or friend is in need of blood', 'health benefits' and 'reminders to donate'. One-time donors who were willing to become regular donors were more motivated by reminders to donate than those not willing (p = 0.000). The most common barriers among non-donors were 'poor attitude of hospital staff' and 'fear of contracting infections'. Younger women and those of the Hausa tribe were more debarred by 'lack of privacy during blood donation exercise' than older women and those of the other tribes (p-values of 0.008 and 0.006, respectively). The most appealing incentives for blood donation were medical consultation and a blood donation certificate.

Women's participation in blood donation in Nigeria can be improved by sending regular reminders to donors, especially one-time donors and by infrastructural adjustments to improve privacy at the blood donation sites. Specific and targeted capacity-building initiatives should also be put in place to drive a paradigm shift in the attitude of hospital staff to work in Nigeria.