Perceptions of Barriers: An Examination of Public Health Practice in Kansas

Public health and healthcare professionals perform a wide variety of services for their communities, and serve in important and often overlapping roles, particularly in rural communities. In this qualitative study, public health practitioners in Kansas were asked about their perceptions of barriers to public health and vulnerable people in their communities. Participants from across Kansas were interviewed via teleconferencing, telephone, or email, and emergent themes were identified using qualitative thematic analysis. While asked about public health specifically, during interviews, many participants discussed barriers to healthcare as well. The top barriers to effective public health practice identified in this study were funding, education, accessibility, and affordability. Others included politics, transportation, and the need to expand Medicare and Medicaid. The populations believed most vulnerable in their communities were community members living in poverty, elderly people, and other marginalized populations. Our findings suggest public health practitioners in Kansas observe a lack of understanding and knowledge in their communities about public health, along with the recognition that a lack of accessibility and affordability to health services are barriers to effective public health practice.