Abstract
The current action research is participatory and discussed the presence of systemic barriers to the attainment of immunization schedules in multi-generational families visiting Primary Health Care clinics in Saudi Arabia. A mixed method has been adopted by the researchers on six PHC clinics at Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam, and have chosen 240 multi-generational families where immunization records are not up-to-date. These data collection methods included structured questionnaire, examining immunization records of 500 pediatric cases, semi-structured interview of 45 family members, focus group discussion of 60 participants and key informant interview of 45 healthcare providers. The collaborative barrier identification and culturally matched interventions formation state was reached through the assistance of three iterative PAR cycles consisting of 12 community workshops that allowed accessing families and healthcare professionals and engaging 35 community actors including religious and tribal leaders. The SPSS quantitative analysis revealed that a significant relationship existed between the attitudes and the generational attitudes as well as the family decision making hierarchies and compliance to vaccination. The thematic analysis showed that six major barriers exist, including cultural misconceptions, generation conflicts, inefficiency of healthcare systems, difficulties in appointing an appointment, poor health literacy and religious issues. The community-based interventions included those like Arabic educational materials, family-related counseling instructions, culturally related and Islamic-embracing communication arrangements. Conclusions have revealed that participatory interventions that take into account socio-cultural contexts make significant difference by enhancing the immunization rates which are evidence-based interventions Saudi healthcare systems can be empowered by adopting family-centered interventions that are culturally sensitive.