Infect Chemother.  2014 Sep;46(3):194-198. 10.3947/ic.2014.46.3.194.

Physician Attitudes toward the Herpes Zoster Vaccination in South Korea

Affiliations
  • 1Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, Korea University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea. heejinmd@korea.ac.kr

Abstract

This survey investigated Korean physician attitudes toward the herpes zoster (HZ) vaccine. A total of 400 physicians answered a self-reported questionnaire. Most physicians knew that HZ poses a significant socioeconomic burden and had good knowledge about HZ and its vaccine. Physicians who did not recommend HZ vaccine were concerned about costs (90.7%, 78/86) and doubted the effectiveness of the vaccine (58.1%, 50/86). Patient demand had a profound effect on physicians decisions; 84.9% (73/86) of them who said not recommending HZ vaccine reported that they would provide the vaccine upon patient request. In conclusion, educational initiatives should be targeted toward both physicians and patients.

Keyword

Herpes zoster; Physician; Vaccination; Awareness; Health surveys

MeSH Terms

Health Surveys
Herpes Zoster*
Humans
Korea
Vaccination*
Surveys and Questionnaires

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