Social Cultural Barriers in Accessing Health

480 Words2 Pages
Barriers to accessing services These are the factors that prevent an individual gaining access to health, social care and early years services. It may be that they do not know about the services available. Individuals may face more than on barrier to accessing services. Physical barriers * These are objects that prevent an individual from getting where they must go e.g. a wheelchair user is unable to enter a building because the doorway is too narrow or there are steps so they can’t get to the entrance. Psychological barriers * This barrier affects the way an individual thinks about a service e.g. it may be they have a fear of the dentist. If an individual feels unwell but they are worried about finding out what is wrong . They may not seek help from their GP. Financial barrier * This to do with how much it might cost to access a service. If the health, social care or early years service the individual is trying to access is some distance away they may not be able to afford the transport costs to get there. If a patient has to pay for medical prescriptions they may not be able to afford it so they do not get the medicine they need. Geographical barrier * Some individuals live near health, social care and early years services and others may live some distance away. For those individuals who do not live near the services they may find that the buses in the area do not run at a convenient time to get to an appointment. A patient may need to have specialist treatment which is many miles away and finds it difficult to get there. Finding it difficult to travel to the services because of distance is a geographical barrier. Some individuals may find that due to their mobility problem they cannot walk a short distance to the health, social care and early years services. Cultural and language barriers * If the information (signs,
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