Does blood transfusion education identify the emotional components of transfusion care? A scoping review protocol
Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
Abstract
Aim: The aim of this scoping review protocol is to explore the current blood transfusion administration training and education system within the United Kingdom (UK) for healthcare professionals and if it identifies or includes the emotional components of transfusion care such as empathy and compassion.
Background: Blood transfusions are commonly performed procedures within healthcare and carry significant safety related responsibilities for those administering them, with potentially significant emotional and psychological consequences for recipients. The emotional and relational aspects of blood transfusion education for healthcare professionals in the UK remains underexplored whilst technical competence is widely discussed in literature. There can be emotional responses to receiving a blood transfusion and this protocol will review the inclusion of a patient’s emotional experience of receiving a blood transfusion within contemporary training.
Design: This scoping review protocol is guided by the JBI methodology for scoping reviews using the Population, Concept and Context (PCC) framework to define inclusion and exclusion criteria. This protocol has been uploaded to the Open-Source framework. A protocol is the first stage of a scoping review preceding a research study on the project.
Method & analysis: A comprehensive search of e-databases will be conducted including the following e-databases: CINAHL Complete, Embase, Scopus, MEDLINE (via PubMed), Web of Science, and ERIC. The searches will include educational materials, reports, and research articles available in English language. The inclusion criteria are broad to include any material referencing blood transfusion training that does not fit into straight forward categorisation. This scoping review protocol will use the PCC template to guide identification and selection of relevant search terms, ensuring a systematic and structured search by three independent reviewers. An initial search to test the viability of the hypothesis found n=307, reduced to n=11 and after application of the inclusion and exclusion criteria reduced to n=3, reinforces the need for a scoping review.
Article Details
Issue
Section
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
This work is licensed under CC BY 4.0 
References
Abdul-Aziz, B., Lorencatto, F., Stanworth, S. J., Francis, J. J. (2018). Patients’ and health care professionals’ perceptions of blood transfusion: A systematic review. Transfusion (Philadelphia, Pa.), 58(2), 446-455. doi: 10.1111/trf.14404
Ackfeld, T., Schmutz, T., Guechi, Y., Le Terrier, C. (2022). Blood transfusion reactions: A comprehensive review of the literature including a Swiss perspective. Journal of Clinical Medicine, 11(10), 2859. doi: 10.3390/jcm11102859
Booth, C., Allard, S., Robinson. S. (2021). Blood transfusion. Medicine, 49(4), 238-242. https://www.medicinejournal.co.uk/article/S1357-3039(21)00012-8/fulltext
Bradshaw, J., Siddiqui, N., Greenfield, D., Sharma, A. (2022). Kindness, listening, and connection: Patient and clinician key requirements for emotional support in chronic and complex care. Journal of Patient Experience, 9, 23743735221092627. doi: 10.1177/23743735221092627
Braester, A., Shaoul, E., Mizrachi, O., Akria, L., Shelev, L., Barhoum, M. (2022). Patient involvement in the transfusion decision-making can change patient blood management practice for better or worse. Acta Haematologica, 145(1), 5-8. doi: 10.1159/000518947
British Society for Haematology. (2017). Guideline on the administration of blood components. https://b-s-h.org.uk/media/5152/admin_blood_components-bcsh-05012010.pdf
Broccolo, M., Favez, N., Karam, O. (2018). Perceived changes in behavior and values after a red blood cell transfusion. International Journal of Clinical Transfusion Medicine, 6, 1-5. doi: 10.2147/IJCTM.S155338
Brown, M., Brown, C. (2023). Improving nurses’ blood transfusion knowledge and skills. British Journal of Nursing (Mark Allen Publishing), 32(11), 522-525. doi: 10.12968/bjon.2023.32.11.522
Campbell, F., Tricco, A. C., Munn, Z., Pollock, D., Saran, A., Sutton, A., White, H., Khalil, H. (2023). Mapping reviews, scoping reviews, and evidence and gap maps (EGMs): The same but different— the “big picture” review family. Systematic Reviews, 12(1), 45-8. doi: 10.1186/s13643-023-02178-5
Department of Health. (2012). Compassion in practice: Nursing, midwifery, and care staff. Our vision and strategy. https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/cip-yr-3.pdf
Garraud, O., Sut, C., Haddad, A., Tariket, S., Aloui, C., Laradi, S., Hamzeh-Cognasse, H., Bourlet, T., Zeni, F., Aubron, C., Ozier, Y., Laperche, S., Peyrard, T., Buffet, P., Guyotat, D., Tavernier, E., Cognasse, F., Pozzetto, B., Andreu, G. (2018). Transfusion-associated hazards: A revisit of their presentation. Transfusion Clinique Et Biologique : Journal De La Societe Francaise De Transfusion Sanguine, 25(2), 118-135. doi: 10.1016/j.tracli.2018.03.002
Gnanaraj, J., Toora, E., Pothen, J., Sathish, S., Menon, V., Basavarajegowda, A. (2021). Transfusion-associated anxiety: Recognised and overcome in an adolescent child. Transfusion Clinique Et Biologique: Journal De La Societe Francaise De Transfusion Sanguine, 28(2), 217-220. doi: 10.1016/j.tracli.2021.02.002
Godovykh, M., Pizam, A. (2023). Measuring patient experience in healthcare. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 112, 103405. doi: 10.1016/j.ijhm.2022.103405
Hoogerwerf, M. D., Veldhuizen, I. J. T., De Kort, W. L. A. M., Frings-Dresen, M. H. W., Sluiter, J. K. (2015). Factors associated with psychological and physiological stress reactions to blood donation: A systematic review of the literature. Blood Transfusion, 13(3), 354-362. doi: 10.2450/2015.0139-14
Isbister, J. P., Pearse, B. L., Delaforce, A. S., Farmer, S. L. (2022). Patients’ choice, consent, and ethics in patient blood management. Anesthesia and Analgesia, 135(3), 489-500. doi: 10.1213/ANE.0000000000006105
Kirkup, B. (2015). The report of the Morecambe Bay investigation. https://tinyurl.com/ycmajuhd
Kirkup, B. (2022). Reading the signals: Maternity and neonatal services in East Kent: The report of the independent investigation. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/634fb083e90e0731a5423408/reading-the-signals-maternity-and-neonatal-services-in-east-kent_the-report-of-the-independent-investigation_print-ready.pdf
Lipsey, M. W., Wilson, D. B. (2001). Practical meta-analysis. Sage.
Nayeri, N. D., Nadali, J., Divani, A., Hatefimoadab, N. (2022). Ways to enhance blood transfusion safety: A systematic review. Florence Nightingale Journal of Nursing, 30(3), 288-300. doi: 10.5152/FNJN.2022.21214
National Blood Transfusion Committee. (2016). NBTC National standards for the clinical transfusion process. Appendix 1. https://www.nationalbloodtransfusion.co.uk/sites/default/files/documents/2023-02/NBTC%20Requirements%20for%20Training%20and%20Assessment%20APPENDIX%20FINAL.pdf
National Health Service Blood and Transplant. (2025). NHSBT business plan 2025/26. https://nhsbtdbe.blob.core.windows.net/umbraco-assets-corp/36779/2025-26-nhsbt-business-plan-final.pdf
Peters, M. D. J., Marnie, C., Tricco, A. C., Pollock, D., Munn, Z., Alexander, L., McInerney, P., Godfrey, C. M., Khalil, H. (2020). Updated methodological guidance for the conduct of scoping reviews. JBI Evidence Synthesis, 18(10), 2119-2126. doi: 10.11124/jbies-20-00167
Polanin, J. R., Pigott, T. D., Espelage, D. L., Grotpeter, J. K. (2019). Best practice guidelines for abstract screening large-evidence systematic reviews and meta-analyses. Research Synthesis Methods, 10(3), 330-342. doi: 10.1002/jrsm.1354
Serious Hazards of Transfusion. (2025). What we do. https://www.shotuk.org/about/what-we-do/
Shaw, P.R., Regan, P.J., Marshall, A. (2025). Protocol: Blood transfusion administration. OSF | Protocol: Blood Transfusion Administration
Statutory Instruments. (2005). The blood safety and quality regulations 2005 (SI 2005 no. 50) statutory instrument 50. National Archives. https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2005/50/contents
Toh, C., Buggins, E. (2025). Transfusion safety continues to be compromised in the NHS. British Medical Journal (Clinical Research Ed.), 390, r1565. doi: 10.1136/bmj.r1565
Tricco, A. C., Lillie, E., Zarin, W., O’Brien, K. K., Colquhoun, H., Levac, D., Moher, D., Peters, M. D. J., Horsley, T., Weeks, L., Hempel, S., Akl, E. A., Chang, C., McGowan, J., Stewart, L., Hartling, L., Aldcroft, A., Wilson, M. G., Garritty, C., Straus, S. E. (2018). PRISMA extension for scoping reviews (PRISMA-ScR): Checklist and explanation. Annals of Internal Medicine, 169(7), 467-473. doi: 10.7326/m18-0850
Tricco, A. C., Lillie, E., Zarin, W., O’Brien, K. K., Colquhoun, H., Levac, D., Straus, S. E. (2019). PRISMA-ScR fillable checklist. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/65b880e13b6ca75573dfe217/t/65b9e60d891cf662fa5f7c13/1706681870986/PRISMA-ScR-Fillable-Checklist_11Sept2019.pdf
Vickers, M., Murphy, M., Graham, R., Neuberger, J. (2025). We should implement electronic blood management systems across the UK to improve blood transfusion safety. British Medical Journal (Clinical Research Ed.), 389, r700. doi: 10.1136/bmj.r700
Volkmer, B., Lorencatto, F., Stanworth, S. J., Hirani, S. P., Francis, J.J. (2022). Blood transfusion in haematology: A qualitative exploration of patients’ and healthcare professionals’ perceptions. British Journal of Health Psychology, 27(4), 1241-1274. doi: 10.1111/bjhp.12597
Zeller, M. P., Laureano, M., Khandelwal, A., Lane, S. J., Haspel, R., Fung, M. (2023). Optimizing informed consent discussions: Developing a narrative for transfusion consent. Transfusion Medicine Reviews, 37(3), 150757. doi: 10.1016/j.tmrv.2023.150757