Community-based Communication for Blood Donation in Ghana (C-CAD)

April 9, 2026 updated by: University of Minnesota

Community-based Communication Interventions for Increasing Repeat Donation Among First- Time Blood Donors in Ghana: A Pragmatic Type 1 Effectiveness- Implementation Hybrid Trial

A randomized controlled trial to evaluate the effectiveness of the WhatsApp groups or docudrama compared to a control group (usual engagement with blood services) on repeat blood donation attempts among first-time blood donors in Ghana. Secondary outcomes will be blood donor retention, blood donation knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, motivations, intention to donate, and relatedness as potential mediators of blood donation behavior among first-time blood donors. The RCT will have three arms: 1. WhatsApp; 2. docudrama; 3. control. Each participant in the WhatsApp and docudrama arms will receive the intervention for 14 months. Participants in the control arm will receive standard national blood donation communications and be followed for 14 months. Actualized blood donation is possible every four months using NBSG guidelines; consequently, participants may make multiple blood donation attempts. Return blood donation attempts will be evaluated using the Southern Zonal Blood Center (SZBC) records (primary outcome) and participant self-report (secondary outcome) at 7 months and 14 months. Secondary measures will be evaluated at baseline, 7 and 14 months from enrollment. The duration of the RCT will be 26 months allowing for 12 months to achieve enrollment goals and 14 months of follow-up for the last individual enrolled.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

882

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Minnesota
      • Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States, 55414
        • University of Minnesota

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • At least 18 years-old
  • First-time whole blood donor with the SZBC of the NBSG
  • Eligible to donate again at the time of eligibility confirmation
  • Consent to participate
  • Understands one of English, Twi, or Ga
  • Have a smart phone
  • Have, or be willing to sign up for an active WhatsApp account
  • Be willing to watch a docudrama on blood donation in a group setting

Exclusion Criteria:

  • History of more than one lifetime whole blood donation (with any blood center)

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Health Services Research
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: WhatsApp
Participants assigned to the WhatsApp arm will receive messages, audios, images and videos in a moderated, closed WhatsApp group over a 14-month duration. The messages aim to motivate blood donation, encourage participants to discuss their blood donation experiences, and allow them to share their motivations for donating blood.
Behavioral: WhatsApp
Participants assigned to the WhatsApp arm will receive messages, audios, images and videos in a moderated, closed WhatsApp group over a 14-month duration. The messages aim to motivate blood donation, encourage participants to discuss their blood donation experiences, and allow them to share their motivations for donating blood.
Experimental: docudrama
Participants randomized to this arm will meet three times (Month 2; Month 5 and Month 10), in a group setting, during the intervention. Each group will have a maximum of 20-40 participants. This is a stand-alone activity, which is not associated with a donation event. During each meeting, participants will be asked to watch, in the group setting, an episode of drama, lasting 15 minutes. The docudrama on blood donation will address participant's concerns regarding blood donation and address common donor fears.
Behavioral: docudrama
Participants randomized to this arm will meet three times (Month 2; Month 5 and Month 10), in a group setting, during the intervention. Each group will have a maximum of 20-40 participants. This is a stand-alone activity, which is not associated with a donation event. During each meeting, participants will be asked to watch, in the group setting, an episode of drama, lasting 15 minutes. The docudrama on blood donation will address participant's concerns regarding blood donation and address common donor fears.
No Intervention: control
standard of care for repeat blood donation

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Proportion with a repeat donation attempt
Time Frame: 14 months
The primary outcome for the RCT will be the number of blood donation attempts
14 months

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

University of Minnesota

Collaborators

National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)
University of Ghana
Syracuse University
Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine
National Blood Service Ghana
University of Minnesota, Coordinating Centers for Biometric Research

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

January 15, 2024

Primary Completion (Actual)

March 26, 2026

Study Completion (Actual)

March 26, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

July 25, 2023

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

July 25, 2023

First Posted (Actual)

August 3, 2023

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

April 14, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

April 9, 2026

Last Verified

April 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Other Study ID Numbers

  • B07
  • UH3HL151599-04 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

IPD Plan Description

The BLOODSAFE project is committed to quickly sharing results and data. Papers will be submitted summarizing the primary results of the BLOODSAFE studies once the analysis is complete. These results will be published in major scientific journals and presented at scientific meetings.

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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