Exploring the Impact of Digital Health Tools in Enhancing Quality of Life and Psychological Adjustment in Long-term Blood Donors: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Background: Blood donation plays a critical role in public health, yet long-term donors (donating at least twice per year, for at least three years) often face challenges related to psychological adjustment and quality of life. Digital health tools could offer innovative solutions to address these issues by providing personalized support, tracking, and mental health interventions.
Aim: This study investigates the impact of digital health tools on the quality of life (QoL) and psychological adjustment of long-term blood donors in Saudi Arabia, with attention to demographic factors influencing engagement and perceptions.
Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 498 long-term blood donors aged 18-60, recruited from blood donation centers across Saudi Arabia. Participants were recruited through social media platforms, university networks, and professional organizations to ensure a diverse sample in terms of background, long-term donation history (more than 10 times), and daily digital usage habits. Participants completed an online questionnaire incorporating the WHO Quality of Life-Brief Version (WHOQOL-BREF) and Coping Orientation to Problems Experienced Inventory (Brief-COPE) inventory to assess QoL and coping mechanisms. Descriptive statistics, two-sample t-tests, and ANOVA analyses were performed to examine differences in perceptions based on age, gender, and educational level.
Results: The findings indicate a generally positive perception of digital health tools, with mean QoL scores for self-distraction (Mean ± SD: 3.33 ± 0.97), active coping (3.29 ± 0.97), and psychological well-being (3.31 ± 0.82). Significant differences were observed across age groups, with older participants reporting higher perceived benefits ( p < .0001). Gender differences were also significant, with females showing higher mean scores in psychological adjustment factors such as active coping (3.75 ± 0.62) compared to males (2.8 ± 0.81), p < .0001.
Conclusion: Digital health tools are perceived as beneficial for supporting QoL and psychological adjustment among blood donors, particularly for emotional and health management. Demographic factors such as age, gender, and education play a significant role in shaping these perceptions, highlighting the need for tailored interventions. Further research should explore longitudinal impacts to inform the design of more effective, culturally aligned digital health solutions for donor support.
Competing Interests: Human subjects: Consent for treatment and open access publication was obtained or waived by all participants in this study. Research Ethics Committee at Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University issued approval IRB-2024-03-606. Animal subjects: All authors have confirmed that this study did not involve animal subjects or tissue. Conflicts of interest: In compliance with the ICMJE uniform disclosure form, all authors declare the following: Payment/services info: All authors have declared that no financial support was received from any organization for the submitted work. Financial relationships: All authors have declared that they have no financial relationships at present or within the previous three years with any organizations that might have an interest in the submitted work. Other relationships: All authors have declared that there are no other relationships or activities that could appear to have influenced the submitted work.
(Copyright © 2024, Alanzi et al.)