Barriers to Accessing Healthcare Services in Rural Communities: Immunization in View

“Good health is one of the most important ingredients for a happy and productive life, yet, many people do not have access to health care and live in conditions that spread disease”

                                                                           Robert Alan Silverstein

Immunization is one of the most effective primary public health interventions aimed at preventing diseases. The promotion and implementation of immunization policies and programs are critical public health roles in the control and prevention of vaccine preventable diseases. 

Despite the existence immunization programs aimed at delivering immunization services to the public free of charge, many individuals and groups still lack access to these services. The success of a nation’s immunization coverage acts as a microscope used to view its ability to provide accessible and affordable healthcare to its citizens especially its rural populace. This article therefore examines the common barriers to accessing immunization services in rural communities.

BARRIERS TO ACCESSING IMMUNIZATION SERVICES

Intra-personal Barriers

Fear, norms, illiteracy, lack of information are all well documented factors militating against the effective delivery of vaccines for vaccine preventable diseases. Intrapersonal barriers are usually generated from within the individuals involved and are often as a result of environmental, social and cultural factors. A classic example is the fear that childhood immunization prevents the child from attaining developmental milestones and causes childhood illnesses and paralysis.

Interpersonal Barriers

The great Aristotle stated that “Man is by nature a social animal”. There are constant interactions between neighbours living in the same community. They share their thoughts, ideas, fears and knowledge on various issues of life, with immunization not being an exception. Also, local community age groups, women associations, and religious bodies tend to have very strong influence on the citizens of rural communities. Therefore, dissemination of  wrong information on the benefits of immunization, its schedule and role in primary healthcare, by individuals and groups could negatively affect the rate at which community members access immunization services.

Community Barriers

Bad leadership, inaccessible geographical locations and 
hostile cultural practices limits communities from accessing vaccines for immunization. Bias against different groups can also cause inequality in the distribution of vaccines thereby resulting in a wide disparity in immunization coverage in communities.

Organizational Barriers

Sometimes organizations that play a role in the storage, distribution, monitoring of vaccine supply and immunization data collation sometimes act as barriers to effective immunization coverage through inappropriate storage, inequitable distribution, inefficient monitoring of supply and limited data collation. Furthermore, limited financial support by the government as well as ineffective policies and laws definitely hampers the development of a fully functioning immunization system.

          

REFERENCES

N. Huls: “Access to Health”: Review Digest: Human Rights and Health. 2013; pg.26-46

Public Health Agency of Canada [PHAC], 2006; Andre, Booy, Bock, Clemens, Datta, John et al., 2008; PHERO, 2000

Z. Abdulhussein, S. Deamond, R. Elliot et al: “Barriers to Receiving and Reporting Childhood Immunisations: Parents’ Perspectives. 2011