Evaluation of knowledge and barriers of influenza vaccine uptake among university students in Saudi Arabia; a cross-sectional analysis

PeerJ

article

Tauqeer Hussain Mallhi¹  Nida Bokharee²  Munnaza Bukhsh³  Yusra Habib Khan¹  Abdulaziz Ibrahim Alzarea¹  Faiz Ullah Khan⁵  Salah-Ud-Din Khan⁶  Nasser Hadal Alotaibi¹  Abdullah Salah Alanazi¹  Muhammad Hammad Butt⁷  Ahmed D. Alatawi¹  Muhammad Shahid Iqbal⁸ 

[1]Department of Clinical Pharmacy, College of Pharmacy, Jouf University, Sakaka, Al-Jouf Province

[2]Pharmacy Services Department, Midcity Hospital

[3]Department of Medicine, Foundation University and Medical College

[4]Health Sciences Research Unit, Jouf University, Sakaka, Al-Jouf Province

[5]Department of Pharmacy Administration and Clinical Pharmacy, School of Pharmacy, Xi’an Jiaotong University

[6]Department of Biochemistry, College of Medicine, Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University

[7]Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Uppsala University

[8]Department of Clinical Pharmacy, College of Pharmacy, Prince Sattam bin Abdulaziz University

关键词: Influenza;    Vaccine hesitancy;    Flu;    Vaccines;    Students;    Universities;    Oubtreak;   

DOI  :  10.7717/peerj.13959

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Inra

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundInfluenza vaccine hesitancy is a significant threat to global maneuvers for reducing the burden of seasonal and pandemic influenza. This study estimated the vaccine uptake, barriers, and willingness for influenza vaccines among university students in Saudi Arabia.MethodsA cross-sectional survey was conducted among health science (HS) and non-health science (NHS) university students. A 31-item questionnaire was used to ascertain the vaccination rate, barriers, and willingness for the flu vaccine.ResultsThis study included 790 students (mean age: 21.40 ± 1.94 years), 246 (31.1%) from HS and 544 (68.9%) from NHS disciplines. About 70% did not take flu shots before the arrival of the winter. The mean knowledge score was 7.81 ± 1.96, where 20.4%, 67.6%, and 12% of respondents had good, moderate, and poor knowledge regarding flu vaccines. The relative importance index (RII) analysis showed a lack of recommendation from physicians (51.5%, RI ranked: 1) was a top-ranked barrier to vaccine uptake, followed by negative perceptions and accessibility issues. Only 36.6% of the participants were willing to get vaccinated every year, 70% were willing to receive a vaccine on their doctor’s recommendations, and 46% agreed to vaccinate if vaccines were freely available in the university. The knowledge, barriers, and willingness widely varied across students from two disciplines.ConclusionsOur analysis underscored low flu vaccine uptake among university students. In addition, the study participants’ knowledge was unsatisfactory, and they were less inclined to receive the flu vaccine in the future. Lack of recommendation from the physicians, negative perceptions towards the flu vaccine, and difficult accessibility were found as significant barriers to the vaccine uptake. A multidimensional approach at educational institutes to cover the knowledge gap and address the barriers curtailing the vaccination rate among students is recommended.

【 授权许可】

CC BY