The Knowledge, Attitude and Practice Among Makkah Physicians Towards Herpes Zoster Vaccination, Saudi Arabia, 2023

Background Herpes zoster (HZ) is a viral disease, which is more common among the elderly and immunodeficient individuals, among which approximately 22% of cases might progress to post-herpetic neuralgia (PHN). Hence, this study aimed to assess the knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) towards HZ and its vaccination among primary health care physicians in Makkah, Saudi Arabia, 2023. Methodology This analytical cross-sectional study used an online pre-validated questionnaire and was conducted from July to August 2023. The target population included physicians working in primary healthcare (PHC) daily clinics in Makkah. Results A total of 153 participants were included in the current study. Of which 90 (58.8%) were females and 120 (78.4%) participants had chicken pox history. Around 123 (80.4%) had previously heard about shingles. The most reported source of information was physicians (63%) followed by the Internet (12.2%). Risk factors for shingles were found to be immunodeficiency (95.1%) and age (78%). Most (88.2%) participants had previously heard about the shingles vaccine and 99 (64.7%) reported that the shingles vaccine is needed even if the patient had chicken pox in the past. Most participants (82.4%) knew that the vaccine should be given to adults aged more than 50 years. About 69 (45.1%) thought that they were extremely likely to get the shingles vaccine if the doctor recommended it. Barriers to shingles vaccination among study participants included participant's perception that they were not at risk of getting shingles (33%) and concerns about vaccines' side effects (27.5%). The average knowledge score about shingles was found to be 9.51 ± 3.14 and the average knowledge score about shingles vaccine was found to be 5.43 ± 1.46. Gender was significantly associated with knowledge score about the vaccine (p-value= 0.028) where females had higher knowledge scores about shingles vaccine as compared to males. Qualification level and current Saudi Commission for Health Specialties (SCFHS) classification were found to be significantly associated with knowledge scores about shingles (p-value = 0.002 and 0.003, respectively). Conclusion A good level of KAP about shingles and its vaccine was found among the study participants. However, few knowledge gaps in methods of protection were assessed. Female gender, married participants and higher SCFHS qualification level were positively associated with higher levels of knowledge and awareness as compared to other groups.