Assignment: Different Barriers To Healthcare
Assignment: Different Barriers To Healthcare
Assignment: Different Barriers To Healthcare
There are several different barriers to healtcare other than
fear. I am sure we can all think of some. I provided a link to a recent article
about a unique solution to social barriers to healthcare. Let me know
what you think!
I need 250 words minimum
People become afraid that at best, the doctor may be making erroneous assumptions about their immigration status, or at worst, be trying to sniff out and report immigrants without documents. Discrimination against immigrants and minorities is a deeply rooted social construct that is embedded in American political and social discourse (Chavez, 2008). Combating such embedded discourse in a medical context is difficult, especially in times of economic downturn when immigrants become convenient scapegoats for a variety of social ills. The economic and social burden of criminal aliens is a common theme in the media, while others portray immigrants as an economic and social danger (Jordan, 2010; Willson, 2010; Wolf, 2010). In caricaturing all immigrants as illegal or potentially illegal, and by conveniently ignoring the fact that the vast majority of immigrants without documents come to this country to work (and generally they work hard) rather than to rape and pillage, mainstream images portray immigrants as a danger to society (Anderson, 2006; Chavez, 2008). This dynamic effectively institutionalizes discriminatory treatment and disparities in access to healthcare for immigrants, while ensconcing fear into peoples daily lives. Larchanche (2012) describes how immigrants exist within a climate of fear [that is] tangible (p. 862), extending even to those who provide services and help to the undocumented. Viruell-Fuentes, Mirand and Abdulrahim (2012) suggest that understanding how complex factors such as these influence immigrant health requires shifting the focus away from the individual to an analysis of multiple dimensions of inequality and how they intersect to produce health disparities. Cultural Disconnect as a Dimension of Fear The third dimension of fear we identified in participant narratives has to do with concerns described by participants about their inability to discuss the fact that they use traditional remedies to cure or treat some of their health problems, including diabetes. Walton (2009) describes this type of conflict between patients and providers regarding non-medical or alternative medicine as cultural disconnect. Many of the participants reported that it is common for people to use a variety of medicinal herbs or other alternatives to prescription medication to treat their health problems. For diabetes, it is not unusual for people to use herbs or particular foods to lower blood sugar.
