The health of vulnerable populations is influenced by where they live. For example, if they live in a homeless shelter, they are vulnerable to illnesses such as tuberculosis due to the close quarters and high bacterial content. Where someone lives can also be a telltale sign of how their socioeconomic status determines their access to healthcare. If a person does not have the money for a car or access to public transportation due to where they live, such as a rural area, they will be much less likely to access primary care due to distance from the nearest facility. If a person has children, they may not have time to access healthcare or pay for it because they are trying to support their children financially or they do not have access to childcare. Education plays a role in access to healthcare, as people who are able to pursue higher education often have more money and more healthcare literacy. More money and more healthcare literacy would allow people to afford certain services such as medications, as well as understand the importance of taking that medication for their condition. More healthcare literacy generally means more buy in from patients.

Strategies for resolving health and healthcare disparities involve the allocation of government and privately funded resources to support the care of our vulnerable populations. Providing resources that can help pay for medication, offer more food and shelter, as well as equal access to education. I feel as if free adequate health insurance for all who live in the United States would be the gold standard to closing the gap between marginalized and unmarginalized populations seeking access to healthcare. Public health initiatives such as mass text messages and social media posts to educate the public on what resources that are available would be a good place to start in order to resolve healthcare disparities.

I will be sure to always think of what factors could be influencing the diagnosis of the person that I am taking caring of. If they are not taking their medications, I would be sure to keep in mind that they may have barriers to filling their prescriptions, or other barriers to taking their medications such as having inadequate explanation as to why they are taking that medication from a previous healthcare professional. Instead of assuming that the patient is being noncompliant with yearly physicals or certain forms of health screening, it is important to question why the person is not able to get to the doctors. It is important to meet the patient where they’re at in order to determine the root cause of their access issues, as well as providing the appropriate resources to help support them to be able to get access.