Information seeking behavior of Greek blood donors

Introduction: The informational behavior of “consumers - buyers” of health services is a particularly interesting field of research since it can be an essential pillar of strengthening and enriching the quality of health care services. In order to understand the information seeing behavior of blood donors, this research adopts the theoretical framework of Wilson. Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate the information seeking behavior of blood donors in a hospital of C. Attiki. Method: This study was conducted at a large public hospital of Attica. The data collection took place from 03/22/2013 to 22/4/2013. This is a prospective study and included 352 from 651 blood donors (response rate 54%). The data collection was performed by using an existing validating in Greek language questionnaire that investigate the information seeking behavior of Greeks healthcare professionals, which was modified for use in blood donors. Descriptive analysis and correlation analysis was done. Results: 77% of respondents were male, 45.3% were aged 26–35 years and 38% were private employees. The majority of respondents had access to both a computer (91.8%) and the Internet (90.3%) and uses the internet to search for information about health issues (75.9%). The needs of donors are focusing on information on side effects in the donation process (70.8%) for potential health benefits because of blood donor (75.4%) and the obligations and rights of blood donors (65%). The sources used by donors were the internet (47%), friends (33.1%) and the medical and nursing staff (32.5% and 30%, respectively). The only barrier reported was the reliability and validity of data found via the Internet (39.6%). Most respondents felt fairly adequate information on valid sources of information from the health care professionals (81.7%) and want to discuss the information they find on the internet with the health care providers (40.7%). The information helps donors to use this service effectively (74.4%) and believe that the complete information may affect their blood donor behavior and their degree of satisfaction (56.9%). The younger blood donors have a greater need for seeking new sources (2,15±1,47). The private employees have a greater need for information (4,01±3,65), while public employees are more satisfied with the services provided (4,27±3,94). Conclusions: The government must take into account the great importance of the Internet use on health issues, has to utilize the technological capabilities in order to control the validity of websites that refer to health issues and to assist users in evaluating the reliability of the information that blood donors find.