TITLE:
Assessment of Knowledge and Vaccination Coverage against Epidemic Meningitis among Students at the Université Peleforo Gon Coulibaly (UPGC) of Korhogo (Northern Côte d’Ivoire)
AUTHORS:
Tanoh Amany Serge Raymond N’Krumah, Ellélé Aimé Marius Yapi, Dagnissé Denis Satognon, Ollo Kambiré, Ouattara Howélé, Issaka Tiembré
KEYWORDS:
Meningitis, Knowledge, Vaccination, Students, Korhogo, Côte d’Ivoire
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Epidemiology,
Vol.15 No.4,
September
25,
2025
ABSTRACT: Background: In Côte d’Ivoire, meningitis is endemo-epidemic in the Korhogo region. The aim of this study was to assess knowledge and vaccination coverage against meningitis among students at the Université Peleforo Gon Coulibaly (UPGC) of Korhogo. Methodology: A descriptive cross-sectional survey was carried out from January to March 2024 on a sample of 404 students. Convenience sampling combined with simple random sampling was used for data collection. Univariate, bivariate and multivariate analyses were performed using R software 4.3.3. Results: The results showed that 67% (CI 95%: 62 - 71) of the students surveyed claimed to know about meningitis. Knowledge scores showed that more than half, 53% (CI 95%: 46.8 - 59.0) of students who claimed to know about meningitis had poor knowledge of this disease, with an average score of 6.4/20. The meningitis vaccination rate among students was 16% (CI 95%: 12.6 - 20.04). The final logistic regression model showed that meningitis vaccination among students was significantly associated with level of study (master’s) [ORa = 0.71 (CI 95%: 0.51 - 0.98), p-value = 0.036] and student origin (native) [ORa = 2.28 (CI 95%: 1.13 - 4.63), p-value = 0.021). The main reason given by the majority of unvaccinated students (84%) was ignorance of the existence of a meningitis vaccine, with a proportion of 72%. Conclusion: Awareness-raising and information campaigns need to be stepped up to strengthen control and vaccination against meningitis in universities in Côte d’Ivoire.