Applying self-determination theory to the blood donation context: The blood donor competence, autonomy, and relatedness enhancement (Blood Donor CARE) trial

Abstract

The Blood Donor Competency, Autonomy, and Relatedness Enhancement (Blood Donor CARE) project was designed as a practical application of self-determination theory to encourage retention of first-time donors. Self-determination theory proposes that people are more likely to persist with behaviors that are internally-motivated, and that externally-motivated behavior can evolve and become internalized given the appropriate socio-environmental conditions. According to self-determination theory, motivation to engage in blood donation may become increasingly self-determined if the behavior satisfies fundamental human needs for competence (a sense of self-efficacy to achieve specific goals), autonomy (a sense of volitional control over one’s behavior), and relatedness (a sense of connection to a larger group). The primary aim of this randomized controlled trial is to examine the effect of competence, autonomy, and/or relatedness interventions on donor retention. Using a full factorial design, first-time donors will be assigned to a control condition or one of seven intervention conditions. Donation competence, autonomy, and relatedness, along with additional constructs associated with return donation, will be assessed before and after the intervention using online surveys, and donation attempts will be tracked for one-year using blood center donor databases. We hypothesize that, compared to the control condition, the interventions will increase the likelihood of a subsequent donation attempt. We will also examine intervention-specific increases in competence, autonomy, and relatedness as potential mediators of enhanced donor retention. By promoting first-time donor competence, autonomy, and relatedness our goal is to enhance internal motivation for giving and in so doing increase the likelihood of future donation.

Predicting Students’ Behavioral Intention to Use Open Source Software: A Combined View of the Technology Acceptance Model and Self-Determination Theory

“…In fact, the TAM is the most widely used theoretical approach to study the usage intention of technology, although it is limited when the acceptance and use of ICT are also geared towards fulfilling emotional needs [44]. In this context, based on previous SDT research [58,69,73,74], the proposed model includes the most relevant motivational factors of this theory, and several interesting findings emerged.…”

“…It is considered one of the leading motivational theories today [57]. SDT has been used to tackle motivational studies across many disciplines, including: healthcare [58], writing [59], human resources [60,61], education [62][63][64], organizations [65][66][67], and sport [68], among others.…”

“…SDT proposes that individuals try to be motivated to satisfy these needs [58]. In general, SDT considers that competence is related to a sense of self-efficacy or perceived ability to attain objectives.…”

A motivational interview promotes retention of blood donors with high internal motivation

“…Indeed, as described in our prior report, in addition to showing significantly greater increases in motivational autonomy, individuals in the motivational interview group also had significantly larger increases in affective attitude, self‐efficacy, and intention compared with the control group. Additional studies are needed to examine how these different psychological constructs may interact to help motivate repeat donation behavior, and we hope to address this important issue with data from a large ongoing clinical trial …”

Encouraging Password Manager Adoption by Meeting Adopter Self-Determination Needs

“…Existing research on human behavior found the second type to be far more effective in motivating individuals to act in a particular way [30]. Accordingly, individuals engage in a range of behaviors, for which there is no extrinsic motivation, such as sharing knowledge [31] or donating blood [32]. A myopic focus on extrinsic motivational interventions, when it comes to encouraging security behaviors, might well be neglecting far more effective interventions [33].…”