Background and Objective: Hemodialysis patients are at increased risk of severe respiratory infections and vaccine-preventable diseases due to immune system impairment and underlying conditions.
Materials and Methods: This cross sectional and analytical study was performed on 267 hemodialysis patients in Arak. Demographic information and data related to vaccination knowledge, attitude, and behavior were collected through a researcher-made questionnaire that reliability and validity were confirmed. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, non-parametric statistical tests, and Spearman’s correlation coefficient with a significance level of <0.05.
Results: Among the participants, 162 individuals (60.7%) were male and 204 (76.4%) were married. The mean and standar deviation of knowledge scores regarding influenza 48.9±31.93, COVID 27.76±26.14, and pneumococcal vaccines were 9.64±1.79 (out of 100), respectively. The highest positive attitude was observed toward the influenza vaccine (68.5), while the lowest was related to the pneumococcal vaccine (2.6%). Vaccination coverage was 83.9% for influenza, 87.3% for COVID-19, and only 1.1% for pneumococcus. Knowledge and attitude were significantly associated with educational level and information sources, and a positive correlation between knowledge and attitude was observed (r = 0.804, p = 0.01 for the pneumococcal vaccine).
Conclusion: The level of knowledge of hemodialysis patients regarding vaccination was low, while the attitude of patients was positive and the coverage of influenza and covid-19 vaccine was relatively adequate, but the coverage of pneumococcal vaccine was very low. Targeted education of patients for the hemodialysis patient community, including pneumococcus, can help to increase vaccination coverage and improve the health of this high-risk group.