Background/Case Studies: In September 2022, donation criteria that deferred sexually active gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men were replaced with sexual behaviour-based screening criteria (SBBS) that asks all donors about specific sexual behaviours at Canadian Blood Services (CBS). This abstract describes the development and evaluation of a research and community-informed sex positive training program, that supported implementation of SBBS.
Study
Design/Methods: 2SLGBTBTQIA+ CBS employees and community members, front-line staff and researchers provided insights for implementation training. All agreed that intensive, interactive training was essential for implementation of the SBBS. A comprehensive training program with two arms was developed. Arm one, mandatory for all donor-facing staff, included an introduction to sex-positivity e-learning module, that was complemented by an in-person scenario-based session. Arm two, mandatory for all staff who screen donors, included technical training with self-directed e-learning modules summarizing the evidence informing SBBS, and practical implications of SBBS. All CBS employees were given access to the electronic training materials and encouraged to participate. After the initial training, feedback from course participants was gathered to further improve the course.
Results/Findings: When SBBS launched, nearly 1700 staff had completed arm one and 900 staff had completed arm two. 438 (34%) of the employees who completed arm one provided feedback on the training prior to SBBS implementation. Diverse roles of front-line staff were well represented. 85% of respondents found the training good to excellent, and 85% also agreed/strongly agreed that the sessions were engaging. Most respondents (85%) found that the training is directly applicable to their job and 84% found the educational materials helpful. Those who disagreed about the utility of training (3%) commented that talking about sexual behaviour, even in the context of donor screening, is unnecessary in a workplace. As a result of the training, 79% of the respondents felt that their communication skills improved. Many commented that they were prepared to be more patient, understanding and respectful of people they interact with and are more mindful of fostering diversity and inclusion – professionally and personally. Respondents commented that they would prefer having ongoing training to ensure their competency was maintained. Post implementation, all aspects of the SBBS training has been incorporated into new staff onboarding and are provided through e-Learning modules. Conclusions: In summary, collaboration with external and internal stakeholders, centering 2SLGBTQIA+ lived experience, recipient and donors led the development of a comprehensive multi-modal SBBS implementation training which was seen as valuable by participants and is now available for all CBS employees.
Importance of research: We describe the research and steps that were used to implement sexual behaviour based screening which replaced the donor screening criteria that deferred sexually active gay bisexual and other men who have sex with men. Implementing the new criteria in the most sex-positive way and incorporating extensive training to equip our donor facing staff to handle discussions around sexual behaviour has been key to its success in Canada. These strategies will be helpful for other blood operators as well.
