Multidimensional Research Insights

Background: Pneumococcal infection is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality among older adults, with lasting impacts on daily functioning and frailty. Despite the effective prevention of pneumococcal disease with a simple vaccination, the vaccination rate is still lower than that advised by the international health authorities.
Aim: This quantitative study aimed to assess the knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs (KABs) of young and elderly outpatients regarding pneumococcal vaccination at the Taif hospital cluster, Kingdom of Saudia Arab.
Materials and methods: This comparative cross sectional study employed self-administered questionnaire to a cohort of elderly and younger adult participants, selected by using purposive sampling technique. A total of 301 participants were divided into two groups: vaccinated (n=) and unvaccinated (n=) who visirted Taif health cluster. The collected data were analysed using SPSS software, which employed descriptive (frequency and percentage) analysis and inferential statistics, including Pearson’s correlation test.
Results: Among the 301 participants (response rate 91%), 32.56% had received the pneumococcal vaccine. Of these, 12.45% were between 20-40 years, 10.75% between 41-60, 8.65% between 61-70 and as little as 2.07% between 71> 80 years of age, indicating lower rates of vaccination among the elderly. Elderly participants were less likely to be vaccinated compared with younger adults. Healthcare providers were recognised as important factors in giving knowledge and recommendations about the use of the vaccine to their patients. Pearson correlation revealed that age, gender, income, health fitness, and vaccination status (p < 0.001) were significant and educational level and nationality showed non-significant results.
Conclusions: The healthcare guidance and recommendations significantly influenced vaccine uptake in both the elderly and younger adults. Healthcare providers should be encouraged to provide their patients with the necessary knowledge about pneumococcal vaccination and offer the vaccine to them in order to increase the coverage.