Factors Affecting Access to Healthcare

Running Head: ACCESS TO HEALTHCARE 1
Factors Affecting Access to Healthcare
Name of Student
Name of Professor
Institution Affiliation

ACCESS TO HEALTHCARE 2
Date
Personal, Family and Cultural aspects that can influence Kim-Ly reluctance
One of the potential factor that are influencing Kim-Ly reluctance to visit the
hospital is perception. Studies have established that a large number of patients have
the impression that the symptoms or the illness they are suffering will heal without
necessarily going to the hospital (Taylor & Haintz, 2018). Therefore, most people
ignore the symptoms and the signs with the hope that they will disappear, and they
will be healthy again. Kim-Ly, thus could be avoiding visiting the hospital because
she believes her coughing and shortness of breath are not a severe illness, and hence
the body will fight it off, and she will recover without medication. This is very
dangerous because a person can't know whatever is going on inside their bodies
without a medical examination. Ignoring the symptoms could, therefore, lead to a
more severe illness that may even put her life at higher risk.

ACCESS TO HEALTHCARE 3
The previous experiences of the patient could be another significant factor
causing reluctance to visit the hospital. According to de Leon Siantz, Kilanowski, &
Thomas, (2017), if a person had an undesirable experience when they visited
healthcare facilities previously, they might develop a negative perception about
visiting the hospital. For example, Mrs. Kim-Ly might feel that the nurses in the
hospital are not respectful and hence finding no need to go to the hospital. Kim-Ly
might also have experienced long waiting times when she visited the hospital
previously, and this could have influenced her reluctance to go to the hospital.
The effectiveness of healthcare to the patient is also another critical factor that
may influence reluctance to seek medical care. If a patient has visited a hospital
several times and the treatment did not work as expected, they might lose confidence
in the medical care team as well as the medicine being offered by the hospital
(Rousseau, Oulhote, Ruiz-Casares, Cleveland & Greenaway, 2017). If a patient loses
confidence in the healthcare system, then it means that the next time they feel sick,
visiting the hospital will be the last resort since they believe that the services they get
there will not be of any help to them. Mrs. Kim-Ly might, therefore, be avoiding the
hospital because she thinks she will not get the treatment she needs for her illness.
Another potential reason for the reluctance to visit the hospital is the lack of
family support. Studies indicate that older people who live alone are less likely to visit
the hospital when they are ill as compared to those who live with close family
members (Kentikelenis, 2017). This, therefore, means that there is a strong correlation
between the influence of family members and seeking medical care. In the case study,
it is indicated that Mrs. Kim-Ly lives alone, and she often feels lonely. Therefore, she
might think that her family members do not care about her, and hence she might not