The influence of acculturation, medical mistrust, and perceived discrimination on knowledge about blood donation and blood donation status

Abstract

The aim of this research was to assess whether perceived discrimination, the level of acculturation, and medical mistrust are associated with knowledge about blood donation processes and blood donation status. This cross-sectional study involved 425 African migrants recruited in Melbourne and Adelaide, Australia. Participants were surveyed face-to-face using bilingual workers to maximize the inclusion across different levels of literacy in the community. In the adjusted model, the scores for knowledge about blood donation were positively associated with a longer stay in Australia (β = 0.12, p = 0.001), significantly higher among those with a tertiary education (β = 0.75; p = 0.049), those who came from rural areas (β = 1.54, p = 0.015), and Christians (β = 1.83, p < 0.01) but significantly lower among those from the western African region (β = -1.10, p = 0.032). Scores for knowledge about blood donation were lower among those who were marginalized (β = -1.01, p = 0.026). Medical mistrust and perceived discrimination were not associated with knowledge about blood donation. Participants who were traditionally orientated were 69% less likely to have ever given blood than those who were bicultural or integrated (odds ratio [OR]: 0.31, p = 0.044), whereas the effects of perceived discrimination and medical mistrust were not significant. We also examined whether to restrict the analysis to those who had given blood in Australia postmigration and found that the level of acculturation and medical mistrust were not significant but that perceived discrimination, especially personal discrimination, mattered (OR = 0.63, p = 0.005). Efforts to increase blood donation among African migrants need to address the issues related to perceived personal discrimination as an important intervention target.