Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study was to assess the knowledge and utilization of, as well as barriers to, influenza vaccine uptake, and how these things relate to personal factors in pregnant women in Saudi Arabia.
Patients and methods
Between November 2017 and April 2018, a cross-sectional survey was conducted among 410 pregnant women attending 23 primary health care centers in Dammam and Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia. A structured questionnaire was used to gather participants’ demographic data and to measure their level of knowledge and utilization of, as well as barriers to, influenza vaccine.
Results
A total of 57.1% of participants had good knowledge about influenza vaccine during pregnancy, and 19.8% took the vaccine. The most influential factor among those who did not take the vaccine was that the flu vaccine has side effects (34%). Only 36.6% of all participants were ever offered the flu vaccine during pregnancy by a health care provider.
Conclusion
The low influenza vaccine uptake due to misconceptions about the associated side effects calls for active awareness programs not only for pregnant women and the general public but also for health care providers in Saudi Arabia. This will not only raise the awareness and utilization of influenza vaccine but also prevent severe illness and complications in mothers and their fetuses.
Acknowledgments
We would like to express our utmost gratitude to the distinguished Postgraduate Family Medicine Program Director of eastern health in Saudi Arabia, Dr Nada A Rahman Al-Bunaian, for her invaluable guidance and encouragement. Her insights have been crucial to the success of this study. We sincerely thank Dr Ahmad Hassan AlMusailhi for his critical comments and important suggestions and Dr Mohamed Ali M Al-Ameen for his statistical and editorial help. We would like to extend our thanks to all the data collectors and participants of this study for their cooperation. Finally, our deepest gratitude is to our family members who have been extremely supportive during this journey. Thank you for believing in us.
Disclosure
The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.