Author(s)

Japheth C. Kipkulei^1*, Geoffrey K. Maiyoh², Richard B. O. Okero³, Simon Kangethe⁴

¹Department of Pathology (Thematic Section of Haematology and Blood Transfusion), School of Medicine, Moi University, Eldoret, Kenya.
²Department of Biochemistry and Clinical Chemistry, School of Medicine, Moi University, Eldoret, Kenya.
³Department of Educational Psychology, School of Education, Moi University, Eldoret, Kenya.
⁴Department of Family Medicine, Community Health and Medical Education, School of Medicine, Moi University, Eldoret, Kenya.

Background: Blood transfusion (BT) is important in modern health care. However, the clinicians who prescribe this life-saving, scarce, and costly resource have often been found to lack awareness of the best practices required for optimal and safe clinical use of blood components. This study aimed at determining the self-reported practices and attitudes of Kenyan-trained medical doctors in BT. Methodology: A cross-sectional study was carried out among eligible medical doctors, who were selected using a stratified random sampling technique. A questionnaire was used to collect data that was analyzed by way of percentages, mean and median, Kruskal-Wallis H, Mann- Whitney U, and Spearman correlation. Results: A total of 150 participants were studied, with a mean age of 29.9 ± 3.6 and a male to female ratio of 3:2. About 73.3% of the participants had a positive attitude towards the practice of BT with attitude being associated with having participated in training after undergraduate medical education (p = 0.036). Overall, only 36.7% of the self-reported procedures conformed to the recommended best practices, and practice competency was associated with the site of practice (p = 0.007) and the cadre of the clinicians (p = 0.035). There was no correlation between attitude and practice competency scores (rs = 0.053, p = 0.521). Conclusion: The majority of the clinicians had a positive attitude towards BT, yet just above a third of their reported practices conformed to the best recommended practices. Participation in training after undergraduate medical education was associated with attitudes towards BT. There is therefore a need for additional education in BT in order to improve clinicians’ awareness of the best practices in the field.

Blood Transfusion, Self-Reported Practices, Attitudes, Medical Doctors

Kipkulei, J.C., Maiyoh, G.K., Okero, R.B.O. and Kangethe, S. (2023) Self-Reported Blood Transfusion Practices and Attitudes of Kenyan Medical Doctors. Open Access Library Journal, 10, 1-15. doi: 10.4236/oalib.1110330.