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.