Barriers experienced in accessing healthcare and wellbeing services when living in rural areas of West Sussex
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Healthwatch West Sussex undertook research to learn about the barriers people experience accessing healthcare and wellbeing services when living in rural areas of West Sussex. A total of 43 people provided feedback via survey.
The research found that the top three most frequently reported barriers to accessing services was, transport, location, and cost. These issues were particularly salient when trying to access dental services. Only half of respondents said that they knew how to access community services (e.g., smoking cessation, weight loss clinics, mental health services)
Nearly one in four respondents said that they “often” felt lonely, isolated, or socially excluded. One third of people said that they had not tried activities to reduce feeling lonely, isolated or socially excluded. Barriers to this were transport, limited range of activities, and long waits for an autism assessment.