Beliefs on Influenza Disease and Vaccine among Health Care Workers in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Background: Seasonal influenza is considered to be a serious public health problem that may cause death in high risk population. It is very important for healthcare workers who are in direct contact with patients to get influenza-vaccinated. However most of the Middle East countries provide many vaccination programs to healthcare workers against influenza virus, the current vaccination rates are very low. This highlight the need to study the current knowledge and awareness about influenza vaccination in healthcare workers (HCWs) in Middle East and specifically Saudi Arabia. Objectives: The aim for this study was to assess beliefs and awareness level about influenza vaccine among healthcare workers in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Subjects and methods: A cross-control study was conducted using an anonymous web-based survey. A total of 172 subjects from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia took part in this survey during the period from 6 January 2018 to 20 January 2018. Results: The majority of the subjects were females (58.7%), Saudi (88.4%), Muslims (99.4%), single (62.8%) with a mean (±SD) age of 27.28 ±8.39 years. 74.4% answered that their work is clinical. There was a statistically significant correlation between the knowledge score and each of “marital status” (p=0.039), “medical history” (p=0.032), “those intending to get vaccinated for the next season” (p=0.006). The highest scores were reported among “single” subjects, subjects with no “medical history” and those who were intending to get vaccinated for the next season. Conclusion:Beliefs and awareness about influenza vaccination have very important effects on the rate of seasonal influenza vaccine of health care workers. We recommend tailoring educational programs and awareness campaigns in order to achieve better vaccination rates and decrease the risks associated with influenza infections in Saudi Arabia.