A STUDY TO ASSESS THE KNOWLEDGE AND AWARENESS OF BLOOD DONATION AMONG MEDICAL STUDENTS IN ACS MEDICAL COLLEGE & HOSPITAL

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To determine the awareness and knowledge of blood donation among undergraduate medical students MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross sectional study was conducted at ACS Medical College and Hospital, Chennai, from st nd rd th January to March 2021.The study population was 400 medical students of 1 , 2 , 3 and 4 year. Pre-tested and self-structured equestionnaire was sent to the study population and the responses were viewed using a separate email id. RESULTS: Of the 400 medical students, 41.5% males and 58.5% females. The mean age is 20.6 years. 368 (92.0 %) are aware of voluntary blood donation. Online platforms or web portals are used by 267 (66.8 %) to assess information about Voluntary Blood Donors. Only 11 (2.7 %) have donated blood regularly. CONCLUSION: We infer that the knowledge and awareness on voluntary blood donation was comparatively higher among males and nal year students. The facts pertaining to voluntary blood donation, when conveyed by the online platforms were found to have greater impact on the current youth generation. Hence, this study recommends organising regular talks and interactive sessions as a must to bridge the gap in knowledge, to identify and remove misconceptions and motivate them for voluntary blood donation on a regular basis.