Final answer:
Vulnerable populations wait longer to see a clinician due to limited access to medical facilities, resource inequalities, and disparities in healthcare quality and access.
Step-by-step explanation:
Vulnerable populations often wait longer to see a clinician due to several factors, including limited access to medical facilities and resource inequalities tied to social status.
For example, poor people, especially those without health insurance, may have limited means to obtain healthcare outside of government-run programs like Medicaid.
This limits their options and often leads to waiting until they are very ill and require emergency room care. Additionally, certain racial and ethnic minority groups may receive poorer quality of care and less access to care, contributing to longer waiting times.