Meningococcal immunization among emergency room health care workers in Almadinah Almunawwarah, Saudi Arabia

ABSTRACT

Meningococcal diseases are recognized worldwide, and regionally, Almadinah Almunawwarah experiences a substantial number of suspected cases of meningococcal diseases. This study reports the prevalence of meningococcal vaccination uptake in ER health care workers [HCWs] in Almadinah Almunawwarah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia [KSA]. In this cross-sectional study conducted in December 2012, HCWs serving four hospitals under the ministry of health [MOH] were asked about their meningococcal vaccination status. Data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire that asked participants about their demographic characteristics and meningococcal vaccination status. Among the 321 respondents, 32.1% were physicians, and 45.8% were nurses. Fifty-seven percent of the respondents were Saudi, and the other respondents were of other nationalities. Among all participants, 84.7% had received the vaccine, 37.1% did not receive it regularly and 15.3% had never been vaccinated. Among all vaccinated participants, 60.7% received the vaccine to protect themselves from illness, 2%-4.1% received it to obtain a Hajj certificate and 13% received it as part of a preemployment procedure. The barriers to vaccination declared by the 15.3% of participants who did not receive the vaccine were unavailability of the vaccine, difficultly accessing the vaccine and poor scheduling, and these barriers were declared by 33.3%, 20.4% and 18.4% of the unvaccinated participants, respectively. Although KSA has witnessed a number of outbreaks of meningococcal diseases, the majority of the vaccinated respondents in this study had not received the vaccine according to the recommendations of the Saudi MOH