Facing Healthcare Resource Challenges: What Advocates and Navigators Know
- Dr. Rosemary Kohr
- May 25
- 2 min read
When the Gaps Are the Norm, Not the Exception
Patient advocates and navigators are skilled problem-solvers. They know how to find services, build bridges between programs, and help clients move through complex systems. But what happens when there’s no service to connect to? No program open to referrals? No real options left?
In many regions—especially those with chronic underfunding or in rural and remote areas—navigators find themselves managing scarcity rather than making referrals. Instead of asking, “Which service fits best?” they’re forced to ask, “Which of these two inadequate options might harm the client less?”
Resource Scarcity as a Daily Reality
It’s common to see long waitlists for essential supports—mental health counselling, harm reduction supplies, addiction treatment, culturally safe care. Some programs close their intakes for months at a time. Others exist on paper but are inaccessible due to geography, language, or rigid eligibility rules. This kind of resource scarcity creates a frustrating paradox: you’re trained to help, but there’s nowhere to send people.
For patients, this leads to despair, disengagement, or repeated crises. For advocates, it creates moral distress: knowing what someone needs and not being able to provide it.
The Emotional and Ethical Toll
This ongoing lack of options can take a serious toll. Navigators and advocates are often left managing expectations, absorbing people’s distress, and feeling responsible for system failures they cannot control. The emotional weight of this work—especially when it involves life-and-death stakes—can lead to burnout and disillusionment.
It also raises ethical questions. Should you encourage someone to pursue a service you know has a year-long wait? Do you tell them the truth—that there’s nothing available right now—or try to soften it with hope?
What Needs to Change
Invest in Community-Based Services: Especially those that serve marginalized and high-needs populations. Stable, core funding is critical.
Build Flexibility Into Programs: Many people fall through the cracks because services are too rigid. Criteria should expand, not narrow, access.
Track and Report Gaps: Create systems to document where referrals fail. This data can fuel advocacy and funding applications.
This Isn’t Just About Funding—It’s About Equity
The gaps in services don’t affect everyone equally. Racialized, low-income, Indigenous, newcomer, and rural communities are often hit hardest. When advocates talk about resource shortages, they are also talking about structural injustice. A system that cannot respond to need is not neutral—it’s part of the problem.
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