• Rebecca Carman, Lesley Andrew, Amanda Devine, and Jacques Oosthuizen.
• School of Medical and Health Sciences, Edith Cowan University, Western Australia.
• Aust N Z J Public Health. 2019 Dec 1; 43 (6): 563-569.

ObjectiveTo identify behavioural barriers of service provision within general practice that may be impacting the vaccination coverage rates of Aboriginal children in Perth, Western Australia (WA).MethodsA purposive developed survey was distributed to 316 general practices across Perth and three key informant interviews were conducted using a mixed-methods approach.ResultsOf the surveyed participants (n=101), 67.4% were unaware of the low vaccination coverage in Aboriginal children; 64.8% had not received cultural sensitivity training in their workplace and 46.8% reported having inadequate time to follow up overdue child vaccinations. Opportunistic vaccination was not routinely performed by 30.8% of participants. Key themes identified in the interviews were awareness, inclusion and cultural safety.ConclusionInadequate awareness of the current rates, in association with a lack of cultural safety training, follow-up and opportunistic practice, may be preventing greater vaccination uptake in Aboriginal children in Perth. Cultural safety is a critical component of the acceptability and accessibility of services; lack of awareness may restrict the development of strategies designed to equitably address low coverage.ImplicationsThe findings of this study provide an opportunity to raise awareness among clinicians in general practice and inform future strategies to equitably deliver targeted vaccination services to Aboriginal children.© 2019 The Authors.

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