Skip Navigation



The European Journal of Public Health Advance Access published online on November 7, 2006
The European Journal of Public Health, doi:10.1093/eurpub/ckl250
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (Rapid PDF)
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
17/4/348    most recent
ckl250v1
Right arrow E-letters: Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when E-letters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Topuzoglu, A.
Right arrow Articles by Gurbuz, Y.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Topuzoglu, A.
Right arrow Articles by Gurbuz, Y.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

© The Author 2006. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Public Health Association. All rights reserved.
Received May 23, 2006
Accepted October 5, 2006

Article

The barriers against childhood immunizations: a qualitative research among socio-economically disadvantaged mothers

Ahmet Topuzoglu 1 *, Pinar Ay 1, Seyhan Hidiroglu 1, and Yucel Gurbuz 1

1 Department of Public Health, School of Medicine, Marmara University, Istanbul, Turkey

* To whom correspondence should be addressed.
Ahmet Topuzoglu, E-mail: atopuzoglu{at}marmara.edu.tr


  Abstract

Background: The socio-economically disadvantaged populations are among the most vulnerable groups that are under-vaccinated. Therefore, the aim of this qualitative study was to understand the behaviours of mothers concerning the immunization of their children, the decision-making process, the perceived barriers, and the enabling factors to access the services in a suburban population in Istanbul. Method: Eight focus group discussions and two in-depth interviews were carried out with the mothers who have children younger than five years. Results: While the responsibility of immunization was left totally to the mother, the socially subordinate role of women did not provide the means of getting the immunization services. The women were dependent mostly on social networks for getting the immunization services. Another important barrier to the services was related to the economical constraints and accessibility of the services. In addition, the lack of effective communication and information transfer between the health personnel and the mothers formed an important obstacle. Conclusion: This study underlines a need for an effective counselling tailored to the immunization session, which will maintain a positive relationship between the personnel and the mother.

Keywords: barriers; immunization; qualitative; Turkey; vaccination.
Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?




Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.