From Awareness to Action: Addressing Knowledge Barriers and Promoting Herpes Zoster Vaccination in Chinese Rheumatic Disease Patients

<b>Aim:</b> To investigate the knowledge of and attitudes towards herpes zoster (HZ) and its vaccination, as well as the vaccination status of Chinese patients with rheumatic disease. <b>Method:</b> A face-to-face questionnaire survey was conducted among patients visiting the...

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Main Authors: Yan Geng, Bofan Lu, Wenhui Xie, Yu Wang, Xuerong Deng, Juan Zhao, Guangtao Li, Xiaohui Zhang, Zhibo Song, Zhuoli Zhang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-06-01
Series:Vaccines
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2076-393X/13/7/674
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author Yan Geng
Bofan Lu
Wenhui Xie
Yu Wang
Xuerong Deng
Juan Zhao
Guangtao Li
Xiaohui Zhang
Zhibo Song
Zhuoli Zhang
author_facet Yan Geng
Bofan Lu
Wenhui Xie
Yu Wang
Xuerong Deng
Juan Zhao
Guangtao Li
Xiaohui Zhang
Zhibo Song
Zhuoli Zhang
author_sort Yan Geng
collection DOAJ
description <b>Aim:</b> To investigate the knowledge of and attitudes towards herpes zoster (HZ) and its vaccination, as well as the vaccination status of Chinese patients with rheumatic disease. <b>Method:</b> A face-to-face questionnaire survey was conducted among patients visiting the Department of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, Peking University First Hospital from 1 March to 30 April 2024. Information on HZ infection and vaccination status was recorded. The questionnaire assessed their knowledge of HZ and the HZ vaccine with nine questions, scoring one point for each correct answer, resulting in a total score ranging from zero to nine. Attitudes toward HZ and vaccines were measured by a five-point Likert scale, with scores ranging from one (“strongly disagree”) to five (“strongly agree”). Factors associated with knowledge and attitude scores were analyzed using an ordinal logistic regression. <b>Results:</b> A total of 1036 patients completed the questionnaire, with a mean age of 47.1 years, and 79.3% were females. The three most prevalent diseases were systemic lupus erythematosus (32.4%), rheumatoid arthritis (26.3%) and Sjögren’s syndrome (9.9%). A total of 243 patients (23.5%) reported a history of HZ or current HZ infection. Only 2.0% of the patients had been vaccinated, while 51.0% expressed willingness to be vaccinated in the future. The median knowledge score was four (2, 5) (ranging from zero to nine), and the median attitude score was 19 (17, 20) (ranging from 5 to 25). Factors associated with higher knowledge scores included being female (β = 0.448, <i>p</i> = 0.001), having a higher educational level (β = 0.355, <i>p</i> < 0.001), having a higher monthly income (β = 0.191, <i>p</i> = 0.008) and having comorbidities (β = 0.275, <i>p</i> = 0.023). Factors associated with higher attitude scores included being female (β = 0.279, <i>p</i> = 0.035), having a higher monthly income (β = 0.196, <i>p</i> = 0.037) and possessing a higher education level (β = 0.310, <i>p</i> = 0.045). <b>Conclusions:</b> Patients with rheumatic disease in China exhibit a low level of cognition regarding HZ as well as its vaccine, and the vaccination rate is very low. To improve the understanding and prevention awareness of HZ, health education should be intensified, particularly targeting males, those with lower levels of education and lower-income patients.
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spelling doaj-art-cf2c29de263e410a88ca2ca5b5fd0e1c2025-08-20T02:47:22ZengMDPI AGVaccines2076-393X2025-06-0113767410.3390/vaccines13070674From Awareness to Action: Addressing Knowledge Barriers and Promoting Herpes Zoster Vaccination in Chinese Rheumatic Disease PatientsYan Geng0Bofan Lu1Wenhui Xie2Yu Wang3Xuerong Deng4Juan Zhao5Guangtao Li6Xiaohui Zhang7Zhibo Song8Zhuoli Zhang9Department of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, Peking University First Hospital, No. 8, Xishiku Street, West District, Beijing 100034, ChinaDepartment of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, Peking University First Hospital, No. 8, Xishiku Street, West District, Beijing 100034, ChinaDepartment of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, Peking University First Hospital, No. 8, Xishiku Street, West District, Beijing 100034, ChinaDepartment of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, Peking University First Hospital, No. 8, Xishiku Street, West District, Beijing 100034, ChinaDepartment of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, Peking University First Hospital, No. 8, Xishiku Street, West District, Beijing 100034, ChinaDepartment of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, Peking University First Hospital, No. 8, Xishiku Street, West District, Beijing 100034, ChinaDepartment of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, Peking University First Hospital, No. 8, Xishiku Street, West District, Beijing 100034, ChinaDepartment of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, Peking University First Hospital, No. 8, Xishiku Street, West District, Beijing 100034, ChinaDepartment of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, Peking University First Hospital, No. 8, Xishiku Street, West District, Beijing 100034, ChinaDepartment of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, Peking University First Hospital, No. 8, Xishiku Street, West District, Beijing 100034, China<b>Aim:</b> To investigate the knowledge of and attitudes towards herpes zoster (HZ) and its vaccination, as well as the vaccination status of Chinese patients with rheumatic disease. <b>Method:</b> A face-to-face questionnaire survey was conducted among patients visiting the Department of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, Peking University First Hospital from 1 March to 30 April 2024. Information on HZ infection and vaccination status was recorded. The questionnaire assessed their knowledge of HZ and the HZ vaccine with nine questions, scoring one point for each correct answer, resulting in a total score ranging from zero to nine. Attitudes toward HZ and vaccines were measured by a five-point Likert scale, with scores ranging from one (“strongly disagree”) to five (“strongly agree”). Factors associated with knowledge and attitude scores were analyzed using an ordinal logistic regression. <b>Results:</b> A total of 1036 patients completed the questionnaire, with a mean age of 47.1 years, and 79.3% were females. The three most prevalent diseases were systemic lupus erythematosus (32.4%), rheumatoid arthritis (26.3%) and Sjögren’s syndrome (9.9%). A total of 243 patients (23.5%) reported a history of HZ or current HZ infection. Only 2.0% of the patients had been vaccinated, while 51.0% expressed willingness to be vaccinated in the future. The median knowledge score was four (2, 5) (ranging from zero to nine), and the median attitude score was 19 (17, 20) (ranging from 5 to 25). Factors associated with higher knowledge scores included being female (β = 0.448, <i>p</i> = 0.001), having a higher educational level (β = 0.355, <i>p</i> < 0.001), having a higher monthly income (β = 0.191, <i>p</i> = 0.008) and having comorbidities (β = 0.275, <i>p</i> = 0.023). Factors associated with higher attitude scores included being female (β = 0.279, <i>p</i> = 0.035), having a higher monthly income (β = 0.196, <i>p</i> = 0.037) and possessing a higher education level (β = 0.310, <i>p</i> = 0.045). <b>Conclusions:</b> Patients with rheumatic disease in China exhibit a low level of cognition regarding HZ as well as its vaccine, and the vaccination rate is very low. To improve the understanding and prevention awareness of HZ, health education should be intensified, particularly targeting males, those with lower levels of education and lower-income patients.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-393X/13/7/674surveyherpes zostervaccinesrheumatic diseaseknowledgeattitudes
spellingShingle Yan Geng
Bofan Lu
Wenhui Xie
Yu Wang
Xuerong Deng
Juan Zhao
Guangtao Li
Xiaohui Zhang
Zhibo Song
Zhuoli Zhang
From Awareness to Action: Addressing Knowledge Barriers and Promoting Herpes Zoster Vaccination in Chinese Rheumatic Disease Patients
Vaccines
survey
herpes zoster
vaccines
rheumatic disease
knowledge
attitudes
title From Awareness to Action: Addressing Knowledge Barriers and Promoting Herpes Zoster Vaccination in Chinese Rheumatic Disease Patients
title_full From Awareness to Action: Addressing Knowledge Barriers and Promoting Herpes Zoster Vaccination in Chinese Rheumatic Disease Patients
title_fullStr From Awareness to Action: Addressing Knowledge Barriers and Promoting Herpes Zoster Vaccination in Chinese Rheumatic Disease Patients
title_full_unstemmed From Awareness to Action: Addressing Knowledge Barriers and Promoting Herpes Zoster Vaccination in Chinese Rheumatic Disease Patients
title_short From Awareness to Action: Addressing Knowledge Barriers and Promoting Herpes Zoster Vaccination in Chinese Rheumatic Disease Patients
title_sort from awareness to action addressing knowledge barriers and promoting herpes zoster vaccination in chinese rheumatic disease patients
topic survey
herpes zoster
vaccines
rheumatic disease
knowledge
attitudes
url https://www.mdpi.com/2076-393X/13/7/674
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