A cross-sectional study of the knowledge, attitude, and practice of patients aged 50 years or above towards herpes zoster in an out-patient setting

Abstract

Misconceptions about herpes zoster were notable in this study. More health education is needed to improve the understanding and heighten awareness of herpes zoster among the general public. Although the majority of participants indicated that herpes zoster would have a significant impact on their health, a relatively smaller proportion was actually worried about getting the disease. Further studies on this topic should be encouraged to gauge the awareness and knowledge of herpes zoster among broader age-groups.

Knowledge, attitudes, and practices of the United Arab Emirates population towards Herpes Zoster vaccination: A cross-sectional study

“…In the UAE and Hong Kong, only around 3% have received the HZ vaccine and only around 8% in the US. 22 , 25 In our study, the overwhelming majority were not aware that the vaccine is in fact recommended for individuals above 50 years of age. This coupled with the fact that more than 80% of the participants showed positive attitudes and were willing to take the vaccine if recommended by an HCP, provides a possible framework to encourage the at-risk individuals to take the vaccine.…”

“…Furthermore, postgraduates were more knowledgeable regarding HZ than others, which is in accordance with a Hong Kong study, where higher level of education was associated with better HZ knowledge. 22 This elucidates the importance of education, as well as providing the public with primary resources of information to minimize the spread of distorted facts and falsity.…”

“…Interestingly, participants with chronic diseases were twice more likely to have heard about HZ vaccine than healthy participants, which is in line with the Hong Kong study. 22 This could be secondary to increased interaction with HCPs leading to discussions about immunocompromised state and diseases associated with it, such as HZ. It might also be due to picking up interest in learning about other chronic diseases from health forums and support group blogs.…”

“…A close-ended structured questionnaire was adapted from a similar study conducted in Hong Kong. 22 It consisted of 36 close-ended questions split into four sections: demographics (10 questions), knowledge of HZ and its vaccine (15 questions), attitudes (8 questions), and practices regarding the HZ vaccine (3 questions). It consisted of true and false, multiple choice, and Likert scale questions.…”

Knowledge and Attitudes Concerning Herpes Zoster among People with COPD: An Interventional Survey Study

“…The online survey included items from published patient surveys [ 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 ], and its development was guided by experts in internal medicine, family medicine, preventive medicine, and pharmacy, as well as people with COPD, using an iterative process. The survey, including the skip patterns of participants’ possible routes through the survey based on conditional responses, is provided in the supplementary material (Methods S1) .…”