scholarly journals Healthcare Workers’ Perspectives on the Upcoming COVID-19 Vaccine in Terms of Their Exposure to the Influenza Vaccine in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: A Cross-Sectional Study

Vaccines ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 465
Author(s):  
Leena R. Baghdadi ◽  
Shatha G. Alghaihb ◽  
Alanoud A. Abuhaimed ◽  
Dania M. Alkelabi ◽  
Rawan S. Alqahtani

In 2019, a novel severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19)) caused a global pandemic. There was an urgent need to develop a vaccine against COVID-19 to reduce its spread and economic burden. The main objective of this study was to understand the attitudes and concerns of healthcare workers (HCWs) towards the upcoming COVID-19 vaccine, whether their decision was influenced by their history of taking the seasonal influenza vaccine, and factors that influence the acceptance of the upcoming COVID-19 vaccine. This was a cross-sectional study conducted in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. We selected and surveyed 356 HCWs via an electronic self-administered questionnaire. A total of 61.16% of HCWs were willing to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, and 55.9% of them had received the seasonal influenza vaccine in the preceding year (2019–2020). The strongest predictors for taking the COVID-19 vaccine were the HCWs’ belief that the COVID-19 vaccine would be safe, needed even for healthy people, that all HCWs should be vaccinated against COVID-19, and that HCWs will have time to take the vaccine. Being female, being middle aged, having <5 years of work experience, having no fear of injections, and being a non-smoker were predictive factors for taking the upcoming COVID-19 vaccine. No associations were found between the intention to take the COVID-19 vaccine and a history of taking the seasonal influenza vaccine.

Healthcare ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (12) ◽  
pp. 1697
Author(s):  
Ashokkumar Thirunavukkarasu ◽  
Abdulmohsen Khaled Almulhim ◽  
Faisal Ahmed Albalawi ◽  
Ziyad Muharib Alruwaili ◽  
Ola Ali Almajed ◽  
...  

Primary care physicians play a vital role in preventing the progression of diabetic retinopathy (DR) from the initial stages to the late stages. This questionnaire-based analytical cross-sectional study was carried out to assess the knowledge, attitude, practices, and their correlation among 274 randomly selected primary care physicians in Saudi Arabia. Among the studied population, high knowledge, attitudes, and practice scores were observed in 21.5%, 15%, and 29.2% of the physicians, respectively. The mean knowledge score was significantly higher among the age group of less than 30 years (p = 0.031) and the female gender (p = 0.012). The attitude scores were significantly higher among the Saudi physicians (p = 0.027) and those with PHC work experience of less than five years (p < 0.001). Regarding the practices, a significant association was found among the age group of less than 30 years (p = 0.019) and Saudi physicians (p = 0.003). There was a significant positive correlation between knowledge (correlation coefficient (r) = 0.739, p < 0.001) and attitude (r = 0.479, p = 0.007) with the practice scores. It is recommended that targeted continuous medical education, workshops, and seminars are conducted on the prevention and care of DR among primary care physicians. Furthermore, an exploratory multicenter study that involves primary care physicians belonging to all ministries and private sectors is warranted.


2020 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. 1956
Author(s):  
Mahsa Kamali ◽  
Ahmad Kalateh Sadati ◽  
Mohammad Reza Khademi ◽  
Sulmaz Ghahramani ◽  
Leila Zarei ◽  
...  

Background: The function of healthcare workers, particularly nursing staff, in taking care of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients, cannot be overemphasized. As the pandemic lasts, burnout among the nursing staff needs to be considered as an important challenge. This was aimed to assess the nurses’ burnout and factors affecting this variable. Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, Maslach Burnout Inventory was completed by 261 nurses in Shiraz hospitals (Iran) in April 2020. This questionnaire addresses different aspects, including emotional exhaustion, personal achievement, and depersonalization, to determine the intensity of perceived burnout among nurses during the outbreak. Results: Our data demonstrated that the nurses’ burnout in Shiraz hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic was high (64.6%). Emotional exhaustion and depersonalization were observed in 63.6 and 53.3 percent of the participants, respectively. Moreover, the rate of successful personal achievement among these nurses was >97%. Work experience <10 years (P=0.016), hospital ward (P=0.044), the number of deaths observed by nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic (P<0.001), and the total number of shifts during the COVID-19 pandemic (P=0.006) had a positive correlation with emotional exhaustion. Conclusion: Workload and stress resulting from the COVID-19 outbreak seem to be one of the major causes of emotional exhaustion in nurses. The emotional exhaustion among nurses must be considered in epidemics, such as COVID-19.[GMJ.2020;9:e1956] DOI:10.31661/gmj.v9i0.1956


Author(s):  
Ahmed Alhowimel ◽  
Faris Alodaibi ◽  
Mohammed Alshehri ◽  
Bader Alqahtani ◽  
Mazyad Alotaibi ◽  
...  

Worldwide, low back pain is common and linked with many risk factors. There is a lack of studies in the Saudi Arabian community on low back pain prevalence and risk factors. Therefore, the present research will investigate the prevalence of low back pain in the middle-aged and elderly community population and examine the risk factors contributing to low back pain in Saudi Arabia. The present paper is a cross-sectional study of the community living in Riyadh and the surrounding areas in Saudi Arabia. Data were collected between October 2019 and April 2020 via trained research assistants. A total of 276 participants were included in the analysis. The prevalence of low back pain was 27.9% (n = 77) among the participants included in this study. All participants reported low back pain severity with a mean of 4.35 ± 2.19 on the pain rating scale. Older age, arthritis, hypertension, anemia, osteoporosis, and a history of fractures were all associated with having LBP. Low back pain is highly prevalent in the Saudi community adult population living in Riyadh and its surrounding areas. More than a fourth of the sample reported experiencing back pain. The study outlines several modifiable risk factors (BMI, education, employment status, marital status, and smoking status) and unmodifiable risk factors (arthritis, hypertension, anemia, osteoporosis, and a history of fractures) associated with low back pain in the study sample.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammed Saud Alsaidan ◽  
Nawaf Saad Altayar ◽  
Saqer Habeeb Alshmmari ◽  
Meshari Mahud Alshammari ◽  
Faisal Turki Alqahtani ◽  
...  

Social media that is heavily used in Saudi Arabia has been linked to a negative impact on body image satisfaction. The objective of the current study was to examine the burden, determinants, and impacts of Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD) among a community sample of social media users in Saudi Arabia. The Internet-based cross-sectional study was conducted among social media users during January and February 2020. BDD was assessed using a validated BDD Questionnaire. A total of 1010 participants were included in the current analysis. A total of 42 (4.2%) met the criteria of BDD, with higher prevalence in younger participants. The defects of high concerns were skin disfigurements (64.2%) and hair issues (42.3%). BDD was significantly associated with spending a longer time on Snapchat and Instagram and less interest in religious topics. BDD group was more likely to compare their appearance with famous people in social media. BDD group reported more harassment and more history of psychiatric problems. There is a need to educate the public about the risk of BDD and to promote safe social networking.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rehab H. El-Sokkary ◽  
Omnia S. El Seifi ◽  
Hebatallah M. Hassan ◽  
Eman M. Mortada ◽  
Maiada K. Hashem ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination has raised concerns about vaccine hesitancy in general and COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in particular. Understanding the factors driving the uncertainty regarding vaccination against COVID-19 is crucial. Methods This cross-sectional study was designed to identify the perceptions and attitudes of healthcare workers (HCWs) towards COVID-19 vaccines and determine the predictive factors that affect their willingness to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. An online survey was distributed among HCWs to collect data assessing demographic and general characteristics of the participants and vaccine-related characteristics, including source of information about the vaccine. In addition to items assessing the perception of COVID-19, there were items on COVID-19 vaccines and attitude towards vaccination in general and towards COVID-19 vaccines in particular. Results The participants were classified according to their willingness to take the COVID-19 vaccine as follows: hesitant (41.9%), refusing (32.1%), and willing (26%). Statistically significant differences were observed among the three groups for the perception of COVID-19 vaccines, attitude towards vaccination in general, and COVID-19 vaccines in particular (p < 0.01). Conclusions Although the participants adequately perceived COVID-19 severity, prevention, and COVID-19 vaccine safety, they were widely hesitant or refused to be vaccinated. A multidimensional approach is required to increase the vaccine acceptability rate. Higher income and increased years of work experience are positive predictors of willingness to receive a vaccine. Thus, further studies addressing the scope of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy are warranted as an initial step to build trust in COVID-19 vaccination efforts with continuous monitoring of attitudes and practices of HCWs towards COVID-19 vaccines in the future.


2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
I Cherif ◽  
G Kharroubi ◽  
L Bouabid ◽  
A Gharbi ◽  
A Boukthir ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Most countries of the Eastern Mediterranean Region have low influenza vaccination coverage mainly among high risk groups. Advice to receive the influenza vaccine by healthcare workers (hcws) seems to be an important motivator for vaccine acceptance among patients. In this study, we aimed to describe the willingness of Tunisian hcws to recommend the seasonal influenza vaccine to patients and to assess its determinants. Methods A cross-sectional questionnaire-based study was conducted in Tunisian primary and secondary healthcare facilities during the 2018-2019 influenza season. A multivariate logistic regression was used to assess the factors associated with the willingness of hcws to recommend the influenza vaccine to patients. Results In the present study, 1231 hcws were included with a mean age of 44.5±9.3 and a sex ratio (Male/Female) equal to 0.25. Among respondents, more than three quarter (79.1%, 95% CI: [76.7-81.3]) declared their willingness to recommend the influenza vaccine to patients if available. In multivariate analysis, belief that influenza vaccine is a severe illness that may lead to death (adj.OR = 2.9, 95% CI: [1.9-4.1]) and previous influenza vaccine uptake among health professionals (adj.OR = 2.4, 95% CI: [1.5-3.9]) were independently associated with the willingness of hcws to recommend the flu vaccine to patients. Conclusions This study showed that hcws with a history of influenza immunization and those who were aware of influenza severity were more likely to be willing to recommend the influenza vaccine to patients. These findings should be considered in future educational programs to enhance hcws' recommendation of influenza vaccine. Key messages Majority of Tunisian healthcare workers declared their willingness to recommend the influenza vaccine to patients. Healthcare workers’ awareness of influenza severity and history of influenza vaccine uptake were associated with a higher willingness to recommend the flu vaccine.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 118-123
Author(s):  
Bilge Yilmaz Kara ◽  
◽  
Songul Ozyurt ◽  
Neslihan Ozcelik ◽  
Dilek Karadogan ◽  
...  

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