Anne van Dongen

Implementation intention and planning interventions in Health Psychology: Recommendations from the Synergy Expert Group for research and practice

The current article details a position statement and recommendations for future research and practice on planning and implementation intentions in health contexts endorsed by the Synergy Expert Group. The group comprised world-leading researchers in health and social psychology and behavioural medicine who convened to discuss priority issues in planning interventions in health contexts and develop a set of recommendations for future research and practice. The expert group adopted a nominal groups approach and voting system to elicit and structure priority issues in planning interventions and implementation intentions research. Forty-two priority issues identified in initial discussions were further condensed to 18 key issues, including definitions of planning and implementation intentions and 17 priority research areas. Each issue was subjected to voting for consensus among group members and formed the basis of the position statement and recommendations. Specifically, the expert group endorsed statements and recommendations in the following areas: generic definition of planning and specific definition of implementation intentions, recommendations for better testing of mechanisms, guidance on testing the effects of moderators of planning interventions, recommendations on the social aspects of planning interventions, identification of the preconditions that moderate effectiveness of planning interventions and recommendations for research on how people use plans.

Adverse reactions, psychological factors, and their effect on donor retention in men and women

BACKGROUND: This study investigates the effect of a vasovagal reaction (VVR) or needle reaction (NR) on the risk of stopping as a blood donor, taking into account variables from the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB). Is stopping risk solely related to the adverse reaction itself, or do the TPB variables play a role as well? Emphasis is placed on possible sex differences.

The influence of adverse reactions, subjective distress, and anxiety on retention of first-time blood donors

BACKGROUND: This study investigated the effects of adverse events (i.e., needle reactions, fatigue, and vasovagal reactions) and feelings of distress and anxiety on retention of first‐time blood donors. All effects were explored separately for men and women.

Motivational differences between whole blood and plasma donors already exist before their first donation experience

The demand for plasma products has increased rapidly. It is therefore important to understand donating behavior by plasma donors. This study investigates whether motivational differences between whole blood and plasma donors already exist at the beginning of a donor career.

Predicting blood donation maintenance: the importance of planning future donations

Interventions to retain blood donors need to target the most influential and changeable factors. This study tested antecedents of three successive donation decisions.

Are lapsed donors willing to resume blood donation, and what determines their motivation to do so?

BACKGROUND: This study investigated the possibility of rerecruiting lapsed blood donors. Reasons for donation cessation, motivation to restart donation, and modifiable components of donation motivation were examined. We distinguished between lapsed donors who had passively withdrawn by merely not responding to donation invitations and donors who had contacted the blood bank to actively withdraw.

Missing Minorities â A survey based descriptionof the current state of minority blood donorrecruitment across 23 countries

1. Stable national blood supplies from donated human blood are essential to healthcare services worldwide. Migration has increased over the last years and so more and larger minority groups require blood products in their new countries, often with special characteristics that are not present in the majority population. In many countries however, minorities are less active in blood donations. The Missing Minorities (MIMI) project was initiated by the European Blood Alliance to investigate the problem of low donation rates among minorities. The MIMI project group surveyed 42 blood donation organisations worldwide. The results show a great awareness of the topic, but it is also evident that the applied management strategies are at a very early stage in many countries and that many blood donation organisations in Europe, Australia, Canada and the United States are not yet very successful in recruiting and retaining donors from minority groups. This paper also reports on the different methods of minority blood donor recruitment which have been used by the organisations. These methods require more systematic research in order to verify the findings of the most successful strategies identified in this paper. Overall, this paper can be seen as a first step towards better recruitment methods by showing the current situation, but it is also as a call for more research on the topic.

Reasons for noncompliance in donor risk reporting regarding male-to-male sex

In the Netherlands men who have had sex with men were permanently excluded from donating blood or blood products. This study aimed to determine the rate of not disclosing male‐to‐male sex (noncompliance) among Dutch donors and reasons for noncompliance.

Eligibility and willingness to donate blood in men who have (had) sex with men

Several countries have changed, or are reevaluating, their blood donor policies for men who have had sex with men (MSM). Changing policies has consequences for donor recruitment and the donor pool. In this study, we investigated whether MSM are eligible and willing to donate blood.

A Conceptual Framework for Optimizing Blood Matching Strategies: Balancing Patient Complications Against Total Costs Incurred

Alloimmunization is currently the most frequent adverse blood transfusion event. Whilst completely matched donor blood would nullify the alloimmunization risk, this is practically infeasible. Current matching strategies therefore aim at matching a limited number of blood groups only, and have evolved over time by systematically including matching strategies for those blood groups for which (serious) alloimmunization complications most frequently occurred. An optimal matching strategy for controlling the risk of alloimmunization however, would balance alloimmunization complications and costs within the entire blood supply chain, whilst fulfilling all practical requirements and limitations. In this article the outline of an integrated blood management model is described and various potential challenges and prospects foreseen with the development of such a model are discussed.