Medicine Without Barriers

Good health is something we struggle to understand the magnitude of its importance until we are without it. Yet, unfortunately for so many throughout the world, this is the reality they are faced with daily. Access to medical care can be extremely difficult to come by for many reasons and therefore leads to poor health outcomes for billions throughout the world. Through my Platform, Medicine without Barriers, I use my skills and talents as a Registered Nurse to help to eliminate the barriers of access to proper medical attention for under-served communities throughout the world.

What are barriers to access?

Anything that prevents a person from seeking the medical care that they require is considered a barrier to access. These can vary between countries, regions, and even within different socioeconomic systems. Yet, many of these can barriers can fall into one of these categories.

•  Geographic Barriers
  • These are things such as lack of availability of services based on where one lives
  •  Transport to services may be unattainable or impractical for an ill person
  •  Inability to get through geographic barriers such as mountains or through rivers, especially when feeling unwell

• Economic Barriers
  • With the high cost of care, the charges of getting to or using the services may be unaffordable to some
  • Inadequate or no health insurance coverage
  • Unable to afford missing work to get healthcare treatment

• Cultural Barriers
  • Lack of culturally competent care
  • Language barriers and communication issues
  • Religious grounds such as rules about same-sex physicians, undressing for examination, or blood transfusion restrictions

• Psychological Barriers
  • Stigmas attached to using certain services,  such as reproductive or mental health
  • Fear of losing independence or being “sent to a nursing home”
  • Fear of the outcome of diagnoses

• Physical Barriers
  • Limited access to buildings for those in wheelchairs or using assistive devices
  • Feeling too weak or unwell to access care, with no emergency system in place to transport the patient
  • Relying on public transportation restricts times when healthcare can be accessed
  • Patient works during normal business hours and is unable to be seen

There are many different reasons that people cannot access healthcare, but with these examples I hope you might spot one or two ways we can help to eliminate these barriers. For example, in rural Uganda where I work as a medical missionary there are many streams that laboring mothers had to cross in order to reach our clinic. Due to the generous support of donors and volunteers, we were able to install “Momma Bridges”. These bridges were built over the streams to allow for safer and easier passage for our patients.

I hope together we can learn more about different steps we can take to ensure that those that are medically under-served and disadvantaged can feel safe, secure, and cared for when they seek out medical care.