9Health Fair: Health Disparities

Barriers to the health system

Sometimes the healthcare system itself can be an obstacle. Overcrowded hospitals, poor communication or lack of coordination between providers can delay treatment by weeks or months.

A healthcare system can be a barrier if:

• Appointments or procedures are not coordinated between health care providers
• Scheduling policies or overcrowded clinics make it difficult to get an appointment in a timely manner
• Patients do not receive timely tests or treatment
• There is poor communication between healthcare providers (doctors, nurses, specialists, diagnosticians or administrators)
• There is poor communication between healthcare providers and patients

Emotional barriers

The process of getting health care can be frustrating. For people with an illness, it can also be a difficult emotional experience. When confronted with an illness or possible medical condition, people may experience a range of emotions, including fear, loss of control, denial or mistrust. Emotions can become a barrier if they cause people to avoid or delay health care. Some common emotions include:

• Fear. People may fear pain, death, loss of autonomy, financial burdens or side effects of treatment (surgery, drugs, chemotherapy or radiotherapy).
• Stress. Patients experience the most stress when they receive a diagnosis or begin treatment. Others do well at first, but have delayed stress reactions.
• Depression or anxiety. Depression— feeling sad or hopeless — is linked to many illnesses. For cancer patients, about one in four will suffer from some degree of depression. Depression is also common with other medical conditions. Anxiety is a condition where people feel overly worried, nervous or uncomfortable about a situation. Depression or anxiety can affect decision making.

Learn more about barriers to health care

Module Review

In this module, we looked at the social determinants of health and barriers to health care. These affect individuals and ultimately large groups of people in our society. They explain many of the health disparities (differences in health between groups). Health disparities primarily affect underserved groups such as low-income, racial or ethnic minorities.

What if we could eliminate health disparities? What would it look like if everyone had access to good health? Let’s go to the next module and see. >>>