Obstacles to care

OB/GYN News, Nov 15, 2001 by Sally Peters

More than half of American women say that obstacles such as cost and embarrassment keep them from obtaining routine gynecologic care, a new survey says. Other obstacles include language and cultural differences with their physician, discomfort with a physician, and fear of diagnosis. The study was conducted by the American Social Health Association, a non-governmental body that tracks information about sexually transmitted diseases for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Researchers conducted telephone interviews with 948 ethnically diverse women aged 18 years and older. Cost was the most cited obstacle to obtaining gynecologic health care, by 24% of respondents.