Knowledge, Awareness, Attitudes, Acceptance, and Uptake of the Herpes Zoster Vaccine in Saudi Arabia: A Scoping Review.

Background

Herpes zoster (HZ), commonly known as shingles, and post-herpetic neuralgia (PHN) represent growing public health concerns, particularly among older adults. Despite the established efficacy of the herpes zoster vaccine (HZV), global uptake remains suboptimal.

Objectives

This scoping review maps evidence from Saudi Arabia evaluating the baseline knowledge, awareness, attitudes, acceptance, hesitancy, and clinical uptake of the HZV among general adults, high-risk populations, and healthcare workers (HCWs).

Methods

The JBI and PRISMA-ScR methodological frameworks were strictly adhered to during mapping. Eligible sources included peer-reviewed, observational cross-sectional studies conducted in Saudi Arabia and published in English between 2022 and 2026. The search was conducted across PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar. Data were systematically extracted and charted using a standardized digital piloting framework to capture study characteristics (author, year, and region), sample sizes, target populations, knowledge percentages, actual vaccine uptake rates, and self-reported barriers.

Results

Out of 25 retrieved records, 19 unique primary studies were mapped. Public knowledge of HZ complications and vaccine eligibility criteria was consistently low to moderate, falling below 50% across most cohorts. Conversely, while verbal willingness to receive the vaccine was highly favorable (ranging from 60% to 75%), a profound "intention-behavior gap" was observed, with actual clinical uptake being below 10%. Key barriers included a lack of public health campaigns, safety concerns regarding reactogenicity, online misinformation, and a lack of proactive provider communication. For HCWs, barriers included unclear local guidelines and a lack of workplace mandates. Ultimately, a proactive physician recommendation was identified as the single most powerful clinical facilitator, increasing vaccine acceptance by over 80% across all cohorts.

Conclusions

While the shingles vaccine is now distributed completely free across Saudi Arabia, high public willingness has not translated into actual vaccination rates (10%) due to low public awareness of disease severity. Free vaccine availability alone is insufficient; primary care systems must shift from a passive delivery model to an active, provider-driven framework to successfully close this gap.