There are many different sorts of obstacles that prevent people from receiving aid. For example, shame, a refusal to acknowledge they need help, cultural differences, and a reluctance to think they need therapy may all make it difficult for people to confess they have a problem. Human services have developed to serve people, organizations, and communities and help them satisfy their basic needs while also maintaining their overall well-being. Clients only need to know where to go to get the help they need.
Poor Social-economic and healthcare Barriers
First, there are barriers to ethnic minority patients accessing health services due to their poor socioeconomic position and healthcare barriers in the patient’s background. Unfortunately, many horrible generalizations/stereotypes about individuals persist even in our modern society. Overcoming this needs education, awareness, and a zero-tolerance policy for stereotyping, racial profiling, or any other type of prejudice (Chauhan et al., 2020). Gender is another obstacle, with many women worldwide lacking decision-making authority, freedom of movement, and access to resources. This restricts their access to family planning services. Many women rely on the support and opposition of family and spouses to help guide their contraceptive decisions.
Even though abortion is legal in some countries, women may be embarrassed and discriminated against by people in their community due to their decision. Those who are starting their periods or taking birth control measures may be afraid of being chastised by their parents, friends, or even doctors when receiving their contraception. This makes women unable to get the assistance they require. For some individuals, it may be embarrassing to admit their problem to a stranger, and they believe that it may be very costly or that it is too difficult for anybody to help them.
Fear of Criticism
The fear of being criticized is still a difficult obstacle for many individuals to overcome. For example, some people believe that receiving birth control at a clinic is a humiliating experience. Many people dread having an STD test or an abortion because they are scared that their friends and family will find out. Fear, gossip, judgments, prejudices, or stigma are certainly barriers to everyone obtaining the benefits they require (Neukrug et al., 2017). Offering education, awareness campaigns, and support groups may be of great importance to overcome these obstacles.
Religion Barriers
Religion also poses a barrier to people, which makes it difficult to access resources. It was revealed that more than three-quarters of men and more than two-thirds of women felt that God would be displeased with them if they practiced family planning (Halimatusa’diyah & Toyibah, 2021). Religious convictions can occasionally prevent people from getting necessary assistance (Swihart et al., 2021). One example of the Catholic church’s views is that Catholics believe in a natural family planning strategy that excludes contraception. As a result, the couple must choose between their religious values and the benefits they may seek (LeDoux et al., 2019). Understanding consumers’ perspectives may help suppliers align their offerings with their values or correct community misunderstandings.
Locational Barriers
Due to large distances between individuals and the location of the service providers, it is not easy for individuals to obtain the benefits. When one lives in a small town, one may be disadvantaged since key advantages may be situated a long distance away in a more significant metropolis; hence one may not have access to public transportation. It is conceivable that many individuals do not know or have access to every service they require due to where they live or are unfamiliar with how to get available benefits.
Countering the Barriers
Educational marketing is the most effective way to solve this problem; hence human professionals should generate advertisements giving essential benefits information and contact information on billboards, bus stops, and even buses. This would help people acquire helpful information as a large number of people commonly uses these places. Human professionals should also educate people on the importance of seeking assistance where necessary. They should also discourage the community from stigmatizing individuals who have taken a step ahead to seek further assistance. People may be hesitant to accept help for a variety of reasons which include overconfidence. Through education and awareness creation, people will learn that seeking help does not make one vulnerable.
Conclusion
It is critical to listen and respond to build a relationship with individuals who can help. Human service professionals must learn to pay attention to what the customer says and make remarks while listening to the client. Human care professionals can use their connections and similar experiences to create relationships with individuals they assist. Human service providers must overcome several obstacles to offer services to those who require them. Human service personnel should also strive to develop a solid working relationship with their clients, resulting in success when they have achieved their goals and are back on track. If all the measures mentioned above are put in place, human service professionals can help individuals with issues to find solutions in the process, fulfilling the profession’s goal.
References
Chauhan, A., Walton, M., Manias, E., Walpola, R. L., Seale, H., Latanik, M., Leone, D., Mears, S., & Harrison, R. (2020). The safety of health care for ethnic minority patients: a systematic review. International Journal for Equity in Health, 19(1).
Halimatusa’diyah, I., & Toyibah, D. (2021). Do Religious People Have More Children? The Effect of Religious Affiliation and Religiosity on Fertility. Journal of Population and Social Studies [JPSS], 29, 479-499.
LeDoux, J., Mann, C., Demoratz, M., & Young, J. (2019). Addressing Spiritual and Religious Influences in Care Delivery. Professional Case Management, 24(3), 142–147.
Neukrug, E., Kalkbrenner, M., & Griffith, S.-A. (2017). Barriers to counselling among human service professionals: The development and validation of the Fit, Stigma, & Value Scale. Journal of Human Services, 37(1), 27–40.
‌Swihart, D. L., Siva Naga S. Yarrarapu, & Martin, R. L. (2021). Cultural Religious Competence In Clinical Practice. Nih.gov; StatPearls Publishing.