What is a common barrier to treatment?

There are several factors why people are overwhelmed with the challenge of obtaining the treatment they need. In an attempt to summarize the factors involving treatment barriers, we can group these in two categories: practical and emotional barriers. Under practical barriers, cost and convenience come into play – the cost of treatment will always become a barrier no matter what, and people who are living in rural areas have limited access to resources.

Those who do not have insurance coverage experience greater barriers to care because they do not have the means to pay for the treatment they need. Under emotional barriers, stigma and privacy come into play – some people do not want or are not comfortable to be seen in a hospital or a specialist’s clinic. A perfect example for this would be an HIV positive person who risks being seen by his co-workers or friends seeking treatment from his or her doctor.

Once people find out that he or she has HIV, people stigmatize him or her, and he or she will lose his or her privacy, too. In our world today where technology is ever growing and where information can be obtained through a single click on the internet, people are becoming more and more increasingly hesitant to reach out and seek treatment, but regardless of these barriers, we should know and understand that it is better to seek treatment as soon as possible.