Medical mistrust and religion predict contemplation of blood donation in people from different ethnic origins

Abstract

Background People from ethnic minority groups can be more difficult to reach in health promotion. In this study, we tested whether medical mistrust and religion influenced whether non-donors of different ethnic origins contemplated blood donation or not. Methods A questionnaire, based on individual and focus group interviews, was sent to non-donors of Dutch, Moroccan and Surinamese origin. Contemplation was measured by the question: “Did you ever consider donating blood?â€. Findings Preliminary logistic regression results (NDutch = 34, NMoroccan = 61, NSurinamese = 56) show that medical mistrust seems to decrease the odds of contemplation mostly for Surinamese people (ORDutch: .41, 95%CI: .12-1.41; ORMoroccan: 1.59, 95%CI: .61-4.14; ORSurinamese: .52, 95%CI: .24-1.11). 75% of Islamic people (mostly Moroccan) who know their religion has a positive attitude towards donation contemplate donating blood, versus 44% who do not know their religions attitude (Chi-square(1, 96) = 8.12, p = .005). Discussion Preliminary results show that medical mistrust could influence recruitment of blood donors of Surinamese origin, whilst Islamic people could be motivated through information about blood donation from a religious perspective.