Thank you for your question, Papaya. Let me take a shot at it.
When I researched on your topic, I also did not find one summary at
all on the problems of genetic service access. Rather, I found several
articles from different sources describing the problems of some
communities in getting genetic health services. Though they have
different ideas from what you had initially assumed, they do come from
genetic health organizations, so I believe they are reliable. Let me
summarize the basic points below in my own words (this is based on an
American scenario):
- Ethnocultural barriers: There are many facets of this. One is racial
segregation. For example, Indian tribes in America were not getting as
much healthcare access as the while majority in a certain town simply
because the white-dominant community did not prioritize them. Racism,
basically.
There are also problems in how to address those of another culture.
Say, when a Caucasian genetic counselor sits with a Hispanic couple,
he wouldn’t immediately know the traditions of the couple’s culture.
He might suggest something that might be unacceptable to the couple
because of their traditions, or would shock them because of their
culture. For example, the counselor says that a couple should not
marry because of high genetic risks, but their parents are requiring
them to marry. This is a dilemma. Probably some counselors are shy to
face such clients of a different background. They would be forced to
do the homework of studying another culture.
Another aspect of this is language. The Health Canada link below
describes how limited a genetic health worker would be if he doesn’t
know the language of the client.
- Geographical considerations: Some counselors are just not there or
not close enough to service the clients. Offices and clinics can be
located in big cities, so people in the countryside will have to take
a long ride and probably dish out much cash just to get to the city.
It’s just that if the genetic counselor isn’t closeby, it’s going to
be hard to get to him. And there doesn’t seem to be that many genetic
health personnel available in the US today.
- Financial management of Genetic Services: Genetic services still
cost quite a bit. Folk who can’t afford can’t have proper genetic
health service. The situation has improved somewhat recently, though
some important health services remain quite expensive.
These may not be everything, but these look like the most significant
health service access problems.
Sources:
Genetic Alliance - Ethnocultural Issues in Healthcare
http://www.geneticalliance.org/geneticissues/ethnoissues.html
Genetic Alliance - Minority Communities & Healthcare Access Problems
http://www.geneticalliance.org/geneticissues/minoritycomm.html
Comanche County Health Development - Access to Health Care
http://www.health.state.ok.us/chds/comanche/HealthyCom/Access%20Health%20Care/access_to_health_care.htm
MoSt GeNe/Genetic Drift/Consumer Issues/Barriers to Effective Genetics
Services - A winter 1992 report (though I think its information is
still relevant today)
http://www.mostgene.org/gd/gdvol08c.htm
Health Canada - Health Care Network - Language Barriers in Access to
Health Care - 4. Overview of Research Design Issues
http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hppb/healthcare/pubs/barriers/part4.html
PDF File: Oregon Health Division: Genetics Planning Project
http://depts.washington.edu/phgen/Practicum/KileyAriail_Practicum.pdf
Search strings used in Google:
genetic health service access barriers
genetic health service barriers
genetic service access problems
I hope this answer has been most satisfactory. If there’s anything I
may find later on, I will add. If you have anything you need to
clarify, just post a request for clarification and I will respond.
Thank you. |
