Original Article
IJMDC. 2023; 7(6): 908-920
Perception regarding routine childhood vaccinations: a cross-sectional study in Al-Qassim married population
Authors: Yazeed Abdullah Al-Ghasham, Arwa Dhawi Al-Feraidi.
ABSTRACT
Background: Vaccines are the most effective and risk-free health intervention available. Vaccination-related hesitancy is increasing in all countries, despite its global success. The current study aimed to assess the perception of the Qassim married population towards childhood vaccines and determine the factors affecting their decision regarding routine vaccination. Methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out using an online questionnaire (the SAGE group’s vaccine hesitancy scale). The questionnaire was distributed using Twitter and WhatsApp. To study the association between categorical variables, chi-sqaure test was used. Unpaired t-test was employed to compare the average and overall score for the Vaccine Attitude Scale between groups. Results: The questionnaires were completed by 416 respondents. Regarding vaccine hesitancy, 16.6% of the included parents were hesitant to get a vaccination for their children, and 7.93% refused vaccination with an 18.5% overall hesitancy/refusal. Responses showed an overall positive attitude towards childhood vaccinations. It was discovered that vaccine hesitancy and children’s vaccination status were significantly related, with 10% of the hesitant parents reporting that their children were never vaccinated compared to 0.86% of non-hesitant parents (p < 0.001). The overall attitude score was significantly higher in non-hesitant than hesitant respondents (42.2 ± 4.74 vs. 30.5 ± 7.28, p < 0.001). The most common reasons for vaccine hesitancy/ refusal were safety concerns (61%), lack of need (42.9%), and negative media information (41.6%). Vaccine hesitancy/refusal was less prevalent in males (36.6%) than females (63.4%), with a significantly higher overall score in males than females (41 ± 5.89 vs. 38.9 ± 8.05, p = 0.005). Conclusion: Findings from the current study showed moderate hesitancy and low refusal towards routine childhood vaccination in the married population in the Al-Qassim region and suggested a sound attitude towards routine vaccination. Awareness campaigns should be directed towards raising the knowledge regarding the importance of vaccination from an individual and community perspective to reduce hesitancy or refusal of vaccination.
Keywords:
Routine childhood vaccination, Saudi Arabia, vaccine hesitancy, immunization, attitude.
Authors
Yazeed Abdullah Al-Ghasham
Department of Pediatrics, Unaizah College of Medicine and Medical Sciences, Qassim University, Unaizah, Saudi Arabia
PubMed articlesGoogle scholar articles
Arwa Dhawi Al-Feraidi
Department of Pediatrics, Unaizah College of Medicine and Medical Sciences, Qassim University, Unaizah, Saudi Arabia.
PubMed articlesGoogle scholar articles
Correspondence to:
. Yazeed Abdullah Alghasham, Department of Pediatrics, Unaizah College of Medicine and Medical Sciences, Qassim University, Unaizah, Saudi Arabia.; y.alghasham@qu.edu.sa
Publication history
Received 08 Feb 2023
Accepted 20 Feb 2023
Published online 02 Mar 2023
Published in print 13 Mar 2023
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Al-Ghasham YA, Al-Feraidi AD. Perception regarding routine childhood vaccinations: a cross-sectional study in Al-Qassim married population. IJMDC. 2023; 7(6): 908-920. doi:10.24911/IJMDC.51-1675871864
Web Style
Al-Ghasham YA, Al-Feraidi AD. Perception regarding routine childhood vaccinations: a cross-sectional study in Al-Qassim married population. https://www.ijmdc.com/?mno=143222 [Access: May 28, 2023]. doi:10.24911/IJMDC.51-1675871864
AMA (American Medical Association) Style
Al-Ghasham YA, Al-Feraidi AD. Perception regarding routine childhood vaccinations: a cross-sectional study in Al-Qassim married population. IJMDC. 2023; 7(6): 908-920. doi:10.24911/IJMDC.51-1675871864
Vancouver/ICMJE Style
Al-Ghasham YA, Al-Feraidi AD. Perception regarding routine childhood vaccinations: a cross-sectional study in Al-Qassim married population. IJMDC. (2023), [cited May 28, 2023]; 7(6): 908-920. doi:10.24911/IJMDC.51-1675871864
Harvard Style
Al-Ghasham, Y. A. & Al-Feraidi, . A. D. (2023) Perception regarding routine childhood vaccinations: a cross-sectional study in Al-Qassim married population. IJMDC, 7 (6), 908-920. doi:10.24911/IJMDC.51-1675871864
Turabian Style
Al-Ghasham, Yazeed Abdullah, and Arwa Dhawi Al-Feraidi. 2023. Perception regarding routine childhood vaccinations: a cross-sectional study in Al-Qassim married population. International Journal of Medicine in Developing Countries, 7 (6), 908-920. doi:10.24911/IJMDC.51-1675871864
Chicago Style
Al-Ghasham, Yazeed Abdullah, and Arwa Dhawi Al-Feraidi. "Perception regarding routine childhood vaccinations: a cross-sectional study in Al-Qassim married population." International Journal of Medicine in Developing Countries 7 (2023), 908-920. doi:10.24911/IJMDC.51-1675871864
MLA (The Modern Language Association) Style
Al-Ghasham, Yazeed Abdullah, and Arwa Dhawi Al-Feraidi. "Perception regarding routine childhood vaccinations: a cross-sectional study in Al-Qassim married population." International Journal of Medicine in Developing Countries 7.6 (2023), 908-920. Print. doi:10.24911/IJMDC.51-1675871864
APA (American Psychological Association) Style
Al-Ghasham, Y. A. & Al-Feraidi, . A. D. (2023) Perception regarding routine childhood vaccinations: a cross-sectional study in Al-Qassim married population. International Journal of Medicine in Developing Countries, 7 (6), 908-920. doi:10.24911/IJMDC.51-1675871864
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