Public attitude towards acceptability, availability, and accessibility of immunization services in Riyadh

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Pediatrics
• Health Services Research

Background:

• Immunization is crucial for child health and disease prevention.
• Understanding parental motivations and barriers to childhood immunization is essential for public health strategies.
• Riyadh's healthcare system faces challenges in ensuring complete childhood immunization coverage.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the accessibility, availability, and acceptability of immunization services in Riyadh.
• To identify factors influencing parental compliance with childhood immunization schedules.
• To explore parental reasons for non-adherence to immunization protocols.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional study involving 1422 randomly selected parents in Riyadh.
• Data collection through interviews focusing on demographics, immunization practices, and reasons for non-compliance.
• Analysis of parental motivations for immunization, adherence rates, and barriers to accessing services.

Main Results:

• The vast majority of parents (89.3%) immunized children for health protection, while only 1.8% cited birth certificate requirements.
• High adherence to immunization schedules was observed (87.3%).
• Younger mothers, those with higher education, and those whose husbands held higher occupational status showed better compliance. Key barriers included service inaccessibility (21.4%) and misconceptions about vaccines. Non-compliant parents were more likely to have larger families.

Conclusions:

• Parental motivation for immunization is primarily health-driven, not administrative.
• Inaccessibility of services and parental misconceptions are significant barriers to achieving full immunization coverage.
• Targeted interventions addressing these barriers are needed to improve childhood immunization rates in Riyadh, especially for families with multiple children.