Why are children not being immunised? Barriers to immunisation uptake in South Devon

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Abstract
Objective To identify local factors contributing to poor immunisation uptake. Design A multidesign study using quantitative and qualitative methods. Setting South Devon - a rural, relatively affluent area. Method In addition to using routinely available data, postal surveys, semi- structured and focus group interviews were used as a means of gathering new data. Results As well as highlighting different parental and health professional perceptions of the reason for low uptake, the study identified a number of factors such as consent, training of health professionals and the accuracy and timeliness of data collection that were contributing to the inadequate immunisation uptake. Conclusion The study has shown a range of factors contributing to whether or not a child is immunised. There is a clinical governance issue to ensure improvement in the quality of the service provided for children and their families. Accredited training should be a mandatory require ment for everyone giving immunisations.