The Italian NHS is one of the ‘hot’ themes for the development and performance of an area (whether local, regional or national). Health spending accounts for over 6% of GDP and 80% of current employment in the regions. Over the years, much of the research that has been carried out into health services, its facilities and its operators, has tried to systematise the service better and to bring greater measurability to such a complex and flexible sector.

But what do the citizens think about our health system?

In the meeting of Thursday, October 14, the ‘IPSOS demoscopic institute’ will present the findings of the survey – ‘Italians and healthcare’ – carried out for the first time in Italy in 2009 on a sample of 8,440 citizens.
The survey looked at the level of satisfaction of Italians with three specific national healthcare services; accident and emergency, general medical practices and hospitalization. The results were compared with international research data from, ‘Global@dvisor’ – which analyzes annually the opinion of citizens from 23 European and North American countries on their health systems, in order to reflect on the present situation and the future prospects for healthcare.

The Italian healthcare system is continuously analyzed in terms of the offer, which is both complex and fragmented in the 21 regional systems. However, organic surveys have not yet been carried out into the demand for health care in Italy.

The conference therefore adopts this perspective, that is, the perspective of the citizens. The results of national and international surveys will be discussed and commented on by researchers and people actively involved in the sector.