The maintenance of high immunization rates that would protect children from childhood diseases is a basic tenet of public health. However, attaining and maintaining high rates have always been a challenge among poor families. Some studies have implicated parental apathy and or provider unawareness as some of the problems for low rates. In order to explore the intricacies surrounding the low immunization rates and contradictions between the perceptions of providers and parents, we conducted focus group discussions. Parents of young children from four predominantly African-American Community areas were recruited to participate in a short survey and four focus group discussions. Focus group discussions were designed to identify barriers to immunizations and to identify most appropriate strategies for improving immunization services and immunization coverage rates. Findings suggest a consumer model that calls for a need to address not only social issues that parents face but also provider-related barriers. Inadequate clinic services, inadequate facilities where services are offered, language differences, and lack of cultural competence were identified as systemic concerns. The transitional living situations, unavailability of health records for foster care children, and parent apathy were identified as parental concerns.
These barriers suggested a need for the implementation of outreach-based reminder recall systems that utilize public awareness, education, and intensive outreach as strategies for improving immunization service delivery. The presentation will include an update on the outcome of these efforts with a special focus on the challenges of tracking health care services for children in protective custody.
Learning Objectives: Participants will: Gain knowledge of seldom idenitified barriers to immunizing children in urban populations; 2) Learn a structured model for planning and carrying out appropriate strategies designed to improve availability of fast, friendly, and culturally appropriate immunization services; 3) Learn about useful tools for identifying the effectiveness of services through the collection of appropriate process and outcome data
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: social, cultural, economic, and environmental, and systemic barriers. Strategies for tracking "hard to motivate" populations
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.