Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To examine whether specific attitudes towards blood donation vary across MSM demographic groups; and preliminarily test whether these attitudes predict prior donation behaviour. BACKGROUND: Insights into blood donors' attitudes facilitate effective donor management, especially as policies for men who have sex with men (MSM) become more inclusive. While attitudes towards donating blood can predict donor decisions, it is unclear whether attitudinal factors specific to MSM groups will be important considerations for blood service providers engaging with this newly eligible donor group. METHODS: Data were drawn from a large (N = 3157) online cross-sectional survey of MSM in New Zealand. New items were developed to assess three attitudinal constructs: negative attitudes towards the MSM deferral policy, favourable attitudes towards blood services, and the tendency to view blood donation as a form of civic participation and belonging. Univariate analyses descriptively characterised demographic factors associated with those various attitudes, and multivariate logistic regressions were used to predict self-reported donation histories. RESULTS: Negative views of deferral policies and blood services varied across sample characteristics in univariate analyses, but did not systematically differ between donors and nondonors. However, a perception of blood donation as a means of civic belonging was consistently associated with greater donation, including 1.46 times the odds of having ever donated (p < 0.001) and 1.40 times the odds of having donated recently under the current 3-month deferral policy (p = 0.017). CONCLUSION: These findings highlight the importance of recognising broader civic-related attitudes in MSM donor research and engagement strategies.