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

Abstract

Background Influenza 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. Methods A 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. Results This 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. Conclusions Our 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.

Vaccine Hesitancy in Israel: Exploring the Relationships with Vaccination History, Knowledge, and Attitudes towards Influenza Vaccines

“…With respect to vaccination during the year of the research period, significant differences were found between faculties in the present study, with more students from the health sciences having been vaccinated or planning to be vaccinated compared to computer science and management or social sciences students. Similar findings were obtained in previous studies showing that influenza vaccination was more common among medical students than students in other professions [26,34]. This may be because health sciences students often have clinical experience in hospitals and clinics, making them more concerned about the risk of infection.…”

“…Similar findings have been reported in other studies that included students from various fields. For example, a study conducted in Saudi Arabia found that health sciences students had more positive vaccination intentions, consistent with lower hesitancy rates compared to students from other study areas [34]. Based on the research literature, vaccine hesitancy is ultimately reflected in the vaccination rate.…”

“…This finding is logical, given that health science students acquire relevant knowledge about vaccines as part of their comprehensive training. Therefore, there is a strong likelihood that their knowledge levels will be higher than those of other students who do not acquire this knowledge in their studies [34]. Social science students had more negative attitudes toward vaccines than did health science or computer science and management students.…”

COVID-19 Vaccination among a Population Experiencing Homelessness: A Survey in Italy

“…This very low value underlined that public health interventions at the provider and healthcare system level are needed to educate providers on the importance of recommending the vaccine to this hard-to-reach group of people. Furthermore, previous research has clearly shown a significant positive influence of receiving a vaccination recommendation by healthcare professionals in individual decision-making regarding the uptake [39][40][41][42][43].…”

Strategic Optimization of Influenza Vaccine Allocation: A Case Study of Age-Specific Approaches in Saudi Arabia

“…Herzallah et al [13] found that influenza A H1N1 infection was more common in younger age groups and more severe among pregnant women in Eastern Saudi Arabian hospitals. Multiple studies analyzed the prevalence of A(H1N1) infection [17][18][19] and vaccination coverage [24][25][26] in different regions of Saudi Arabia, showing various infection characteristics and uptake rates among different age groups.…”