Abdelgadir Mawada A, Khardali Amani, Menachery Santhosh J, Ravi Renju, Thaibah Hilal A, Alfarhan Moaddey, Al-Qahtani Saeed A, Meraya Abdulkarim M
From the Department of Clinical Practice (Abdelgadir, Khardali, Menachery, Thaibah, Al Farhan, Al-Qahtani), Pharmacy Practice Research Unit (Abdelgadir, Khardali, Menachery, Thaibah, Al-Qahtani, Meraya), College of Pharmacy, and from Clinical Pharmacology Unit (Ravi), Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Jazan University, Jizan, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Med J. 2025 Aug;46(8):933-940. doi: 10.15537/smj.2025.46.8.20250214.
To understand the attitude and knowledge regarding influenza vaccine is crucial for developing effective vaccination strategies to improve public health outcomes. Seasonal influenza is a widespread, preventable infection caused by influenza viruses, particularly affecting vulnerable populations.
We conducted a community-based cross-sectional study to assess the prevalence, knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding influenza vaccination in Jazan Province, Saudi Arabia.
A total of 402 participants were surveyed, with the majority being female (80.3%) and Saudi nationals (97.3%). Our results revealed that 69.4% of the participants had been vaccinated, yet significant gaps remained in knowledge, especially regarding high-risk groups and vaccine side effects. Although 97% had heard of the influenza vaccine, only half of the participants were aware of its side effects. Moreover, 58.8% of the unvaccinated believed that their immune systems could naturally fight off the infection. Attitudes towards vaccination were generally positive, with 76.2% adhering to preventive measures. However, misconceptions persisted, particularly regarding vaccine safety and the perceived severity of influenza. Marital status being widowed was a significant predictor (estimate; 95% confidence interval; -value) for low knowledge score (-1.46; -2.54, -0.38; =0.008) whereas, having already taken the influenza vaccine was a significant predictor for higher score (1.15; 0.73, 1.56; <0.001). For every unit increase in the knowledge score, the influenza vaccination hesitancy odds increased by 1.83 times, which was statistically significant.
Our study demonstrates that while awareness of influenza and its vaccine is relatively high, significant misconceptions remain, highlighting the need for targeted health education initiatives to address these gaps and increase regional vaccination coverage.
了解人们对流感疫苗的态度和知识对于制定有效的疫苗接种策略以改善公共卫生状况至关重要。季节性流感是一种由流感病毒引起的广泛传播且可预防的感染，尤其影响弱势群体。
我们在沙特阿拉伯吉赞省开展了一项基于社区的横断面研究，以评估流感疫苗接种的流行情况、知识、态度和做法。
共对402名参与者进行了调查，其中大多数为女性（80.3%）和沙特国民（97.3%）。我们的结果显示，69.4%的参与者接种过疫苗，但在知识方面仍存在显著差距，特别是在高危人群和疫苗副作用方面。虽然97%的人听说过流感疫苗，但只有一半的参与者了解其副作用。此外，58.8%未接种疫苗的人认为他们的免疫系统可以自然抵抗感染。对疫苗接种的态度总体上是积极的，76.2%的人坚持采取预防措施。然而，误解仍然存在，特别是在疫苗安全性和流感的感知严重程度方面。丧偶是知识得分低的一个重要预测因素（估计值；95%置信区间；P值）（-1.46；-2.54，-0.38；P = 0.008），而已经接种流感疫苗是得分较高的一个重要预测因素（1.15；0.73，1.56；P < 0.001）。知识得分每增加一个单位，流感疫苗接种犹豫几率增加1.83倍，具有统计学意义。
我们的研究表明，虽然对流感及其疫苗的认识相对较高，但仍存在重大误解，这凸显了需要开展有针对性的健康教育举措来弥补这些差距并提高地区疫苗接种覆盖率。
