A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY OF THE KNOWLEDGE AND ATTITUDE TOWARDS HERPES ZOSTER AND KNOWLEDGE AND ATTITUDE TOWARDS HERPES VACCINATION AMONG PHCS VISITORS IN TABUK CITY, SAUDI ARABIA 2023

Introduction: Herpes zoster is a viral infection that occurs due to the reactivation of the varicella-zoster virus. For people 50 years of age and older, immunization against herpes zoster has been approved in order to prevent its negative effects. This study aims to assess the level of knowledge and attitude toward herpes zoster and its vaccination among the PHC visitors in Tabuk City, Saudi Arabia, in 2023 and to measure the prevalence of herpes zoster among adults ≥ 50 and the most common coexisting disease. Methodology: This study is designed as an analytical, cross-sectional study. A facility-based study was conducted among 403 adults over 50 years of age to assess the level of knowledge and attitude toward herpes zoster infection and its vaccination among the PHC visitors in Tabuk city. PHCs were selected via stratified random sampling, and visitors were chosen at random. SPSS Statistics Version 23.0 was used to analyze the data. Result: 307 participants indicated that they had ever heard about shingles, representing 83.2–76.2% (95% CI, 72.9 to 79.0). The results showed that awareness about shingles was significantly higher among women (80.4% vs. 70.8 percent among men, p =0.024). Additionally, participants awareness increased consistently with higher educational levels. Among the respondents, only 9.4% had received the shingles vaccine. The most frequently reported barriers to getting vaccinated are the lack of awareness about the vaccine (29.0%) and concerns about the possible side effects (23.3%). Among the respondents who heard about shingles, only 4% had the disease. The most common chronic diseases were diabetes (39.5%) and hypertension (38.5%). Importantly, 54.1% of the respondents had chicken pox. Conclusion: The population in Saudi Arabia showed positive attitudes and had good information about HZ and its vaccine. We recommend encouraging doctors to discuss this subject with patients who are willing to be vaccinated. Arranging campaigns across the country to raise awareness of the disease. Thus increasing the vaccination rate for HZ.