Barriers hindering timely access to mental health care

Estrada-Araoz E.G. · Revista Cubana de Medicina Militar (2026)

Resumen

Introduction: Mental health is an essential component of well-being and social development, yet a persistent gap remains between need and access, shaped by individual, structural, and sociocultural barriers. Objective: To analyze the barriers that hinder timely access to mental health care. Opinion: Stigma, perceived self-sufficiency, and the normalization of distress limit individuals’ willingness to seek care. Added to this are structural obstacles such as the shortage of professionals, the concentration of services in urban areas, the costs of treatment, and long waiting lists, which restrict timely access. On the sociocultural level, gender norms, religious beliefs, and the spread of pseudoscientific discourses reinforce distrust of professional care. These barriers do not operate in isolation; rather, they reinforce one another and form a cycle of exclusion that increases the vulnerability of the most disadvantaged groups. Conclusions: Barriers to accessing mental health care represent a complex problem that demands comprehensive policies aimed at expanding resources, promoting culturally relevant awareness, and ensuring accessible community support, in order to reduce the gap and recognize mental health as both a right and a global public good.

Instituciones: Universidad Nacional Amazónica de Madre de Dios