Trusting the Health Care System
I've previously spoke on the importance of patients having health care providers they feel they can relate to. Whether it be having a provider of a certain sex, race or religion. Surprisingly, those that predominately seek urgent care are lacking in the healthcare workforce. There is an uneven distribution with representation lacking in male presence, the presence of ethnic/minority groups, as well as the presence of non-Christian practices.
Mind you, this is not everywhere-I'm speaking in reference to the United States. This is partially why some people are hesitant to seek out health care. Unfortunately, they experience a trust issue with their doctors. They might feel as though the doctor will not understand them or have their best interest in mind-with respect to caring for them as a whole person versus the illness they suffer from.
History plays a large role in why so many patients feel this way. The "doctor knows best" mentality was well accepted by some and almost detrimental to others, as with the Tuskegee Experiment. For those who are unfamiliar, the Tuskegee Experiment was an experiment consisting of 400 African American men who had syphilis but were not told that they had syphilis or treated for it. As a result, a lot of people died and the trust of a lot of African American men in the health care system died with it. More information on this can be found at: http://www.tuskegee.edu/Global/Story.asp?s=1207586