Investigating the factors affecting blood donation among Israelis.

AIM This study examined whether the Theory of Planned Behavior adds significantly to the prediction of intention and actual blood donation of the general Israeli population. BACKGROUND In most developed countries and in Israel in particular there is a chronic shortage of blood for transfusions. This raises questions about methods of increasing blood donations. DESIGN This is a correlational quantitative study. METHODS A questionnaire was created based on a review of the literature and the Theory of Planned Behavior. The questionnaire was distributed among a convenience sample of 190 Israeli Jewish men and women, aged 17-60. RESULTS Israelis' perceived behavioral control of their blood donations, their subjective norms and their attitude regarding blood donation, predicted their intention to donate blood. It seems that intention predicted actual blood donations. A conspicuous finding is that members of the Ethiopian Jewish community displayed an extremely limited intention to donate blood. CONCLUSIONS The results of this study show that a number of various educational and practical strategies may be used to encourage the population to donate blood. These include: reducing perceived barriers, directing interventions specifically at the population most likely to donate blood and forming a reserve of regular donors.