Knowledge and Attitudes of Turkish Physicians towards Human Monkeypox Disease and Related Vaccination: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background: In May 2022, the monkeypox virus outbreak in multiple countries on various continents marked a potential resurgence of the disease as a global health issue. Considering the crucial role of physicians in mitigating the monkeypox outbreak, we sought to evaluate physicians' knowledge, attitude, concerns, and vaccine acceptance for monkeypox, in the shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: A large-scale, cross-sectional survey was conducted among 283 physicians between 20 August-2 September 2022, in Turkey. The participants' sociodemographic characteristics, knowledge, attitudes, concerns, and vaccine acceptance toward monkeypox infection were collected via a questionnaire. Results: Our study revealed that 32.5% of physicians achieved a good level of knowledge; similarly, 31.4% of the physicians planned to have the monkeypox vaccine. Multivariate binary logistic regression analysis showed that female physicians (p = 0.031) and older people (>= 30 vs. <30) were more likely to be knowledgeable about monkeypox (p = 0.007). We found that participants from divisions of internal medicine (p = 0.033) who knew about the monkeypox disease during medical school or residency (p = 0.005) and were previously exposed to COVID-19 disease (p = 0.005) were more likely to have a good knowledge score of monkeypox. We also found that physicians with a good knowledge score were more worried about monkeypox compared to COVID-19 (AOR: 2.22; 95% CI:1.13-4.33; p = 0.019). Additionally, those who had information on monkeypox during medical education (AOR = 2.16, 95% CI = 1.10-4.21; p = 0.024) were more likely to receive the smallpox vaccine to prevent monkeypox viral infection when available. Conclusions: The present study pointed out that physicians in Turkey have unsatisfactory levels of knowledge about the emerging monkeypox. This study results can impede attempts to detect and manage cases of monkeypox and should be addressed through appropriate and timely awareness and educational programs, alerts, and seminars. These might serve as the basis for policymakers' decisions about promoting national monkeypox vaccination strategies and addressing potential vaccine hesitancy and misinformation when needed.

Automated summary

This study surveyed 283 physicians in Turkey about their knowledge, attitude, concerns, and vaccine acceptance for monkeypox. The results showed that 32.5% of the physicians had a good level of knowledge and 31.4% planned to have the monkeypox vaccine. Female physicians and older individuals were more likely to be knowledgeable about monkeypox. Physicians from internal medicine divisions, those who learned about monkeypox during medical school or residency, and those previously exposed to COVID-19 had a higher knowledge score of monkeypox. Physicians with a good knowledge score were more worried about monkeypox compared to COVID-19.