Introduction:The incidence of pertussis has been said to increase over the years, and the affected patient-age group has also changed with the increasing number of cases amongst adolescents and adults. Therefore, adults require booster vaccination for protection against pertussis infection. Vaccination among healthcare workers (HCW) should be prioritized when a country implements an adult vaccine. However, the coverage of pertussis vaccination is still deficient among HCW due to low-risk perception. This study focused on finding the risk perception of pertussis in-fection amongst the HCWs based on the Protection Motivation Theory (PMT) and their acceptance to take pertussis vaccination. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study using online survey. The website link is given to the Health-care workers consisting of doctors, Assistant Medical Officers, nurses, and Environmental Health Officers. Results: A total of 853 responders responded to the questionnaire. Most of the respondents (81.5%) are willing to receive the pertussis vaccine. Independent t-test showed that the PMT score was significantly different between those willing and those not willing to take the vaccine (p-value < 0.001, t statistics (df)= 7.729 (325). Robust path analysis showed that sociodemographic factors (age, the institution of working and prior pertussis vaccination) (p=0.004), threat (p
Introduction: Childhood vaccination is proven as the most effective intervention to prevent and reduce children mortality caused by Vaccine Preventable Diseases (VPD). It is a major public health concern globally as there are still existences of vaccine incompletion. Despite good immunization coverage, outbreaks of VPD are still reported from time to time with serious implications. The aim of this study is to assess the association between maternal health literacy with completion of childhood vaccination. Methods: A cross- sectional study design was conducted among mothers with children aged 5 years and below using a face to face interview questionnaire. Data entered and analyzed using SPSS version 22. Chi square was used to look for association between two categorical data. Results:Majority of respondents were mother‘s aged 30’s, Malays (76.1 %), completed secondary education (74.8 %) un-employed (63.8 %).Study showed (98.99%) children completed vaccination however (1.01 %) had incomplete vac-cination. There was significant findings on association between maternal education and partner‘s education, main language, employment status and household income with health literacy. The mean health literacy score among the incomplete vaccination group was slightly lower (36.9) compared to the completed vaccination group (39.4). The problematic health literacy was seen at (17.4 %) and the sufficient health literacy was (82.6%). Conclusion: The finding indicated that there is an association between maternal education, partner‘s level of education with health literacy. The health literacy score among those who completed vaccination was slightly higher. Initiatives focusing on maternal health literacy could further improve vaccination completion among children.
Introduction: Pertussis is known to cause infection and reinfection to everyone irrespective of ages and countries. Therefore, adults do require vaccination for protection against pertussis infection especially the HCW. However, the pertussis vaccine coverage is low among HCW due to low-risk perception. Protection Motivation Theory (PMT) is one of the most cited theories to explain risk perception and intention to change. Therefore, we developed a questionnaire based on the subconstructs of the PMT to assess the acceptance of the pertussis vaccine amongst the HCWs in Sabah and Sarawak. The motive of this study is to validate this questionnaire to see its validity and reli- ability. Method: Data was collected using a self-administered questionnaire via an online survey (Monkey Survey). The questionnaire was given to 250 HCW. Items that were identified as a problem were modified to increase reli- ability. Further validation was done among 853 HCWs working in various parts of Sabah and Sarawak. Results: The Cronbach alpha of the overall construct of PMT during the first pilot study was 0.66 and improved to 0.82. Principal components factor analysis using varimax rotations showed that the first four factors explained 28%, 2%, 9% and 5% of the variance respectively. Both the one level and two-level modelling indicated that it’s a good fit model. Conclu- sion: The study instrument that was developed for the study has been tested and proven to be relevant to assess the risk perception of an HCW towards pertussis.