Barriers & Enabling Factors towards Utilization of Polio Vaccination

Abstract

The aim of this study is to identify the obstacles to vaccination and immunization. It also tries to comprehend community attitudes toward life-saving vaccinations such as those for polio, measles, tetanus, and more recently corona people has some negative perception about vaccination. The research focuses on community-level obstacles to vaccinations that could save lives. At the second part give a way out and a road map how to counter such obstacles. The research tries to document the opinion and recommendation of the community members to improve condition for vaccination an immunization. It is basically a qualitative, anthropological research. Qualitative research methodology is used in this research. A cluster of tools of qualitative and anthropological methods such as focus group discussion, participant observation, interviews and case studies are used in the study. Participant observation is carried out for gaining more in-depth understanding about the research topic. Purposive and snow ball sampling technique was used for data collection. Lady health workers, doctors, health technicians, and those family who are reluctant to vaccinate their children were included in the study. Religious scholars and other influential members of the community were included in the study. 38 interviews, and 6 focus group discussions were conducted for the research. The research is conducted in in district Bannu, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Pakistan is a member of the United Nations and a signatory to the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of Poliomyelitis and Other Associated disease. Because of misconceptions and a variety of obstacles and factors, people in Pakistan believe that immunizations and vaccines are harmful to their children. Even though Pakistan's government is doing everything possible to eliminate polio and other diseases from the country's population, new cases continue to emerge. ii The most people are resisted due to the unawareness, lack of education, misconception and myths about vaccines, informal negative propagation by Molvies, associating vaccines with global Jews agenda against Muslims, females‟ restricted mobility, and families decision making with the oldest person who was not formally educated. Strong believe in fatalism was found to be strengthened with rare vaccine-associated incidences.