Confidence in the safety of blood for transfusion: the effect of message framing

BACKGROUND: Blood transfusion is a universally used, life-saving medical in tervention. However, there are increasing concerns among patients about blo od safety. This study investigates the effect of message framing, a means o f presenting information, on confidence in blood transfusion safety. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: The same factual information regarding the safety of blood for transfusion was presented to a sample of 254 adult students ( donors and nondonors) as either a gain frame (lives saved), a loss frame (l ives lost), or a combined frame (a loss frame expressed in a positive conte xt). This provided a basic two-way, between-subjects design with 1) blood d onation history (donors vs. nondonors) and 2) message frame (gain, loss, an d combined) functioning as the between-groups factors. It was hypothesized that participants would consider blood safer if information was presented a s a gain frame. The role of stress appraisals as potential mediators of the framing effect was also explored. RESULTS: As predicted, participants receiving the gain-frame information we re significantly more confident of the safety of blood for transfusion than those receiving loss-frame information or both. This was unaffected by don ation history or appraisals of stress associated with transfusion. The exte nt to which blood was considered safe was negatively associated, independen tly of framing effects, with perceptions that transfusion was threatening. CONCLUSION: Information about transfusion should be conveyed to patients in a form focusing on the positive, rather than the negative, known facts abo ut the safety of blood.