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

Abstract

Objectives 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). Methods 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. Results 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 pre-employment 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. Conclusions 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.