According to the report, 40% Italians would do more checks with shorter waiting lists

Four out of 10 Italians would do more prevention, undergoing more medical checks, if waiting times were shorter. The percentage of people who have regular check-ups remains stable at 41%, while 45% only seek treatment when they start to feel ill. One in 4 women (25%) has not been to the gynecologist for over 3 years and 30% of Italians do not have a Pap test. In short, there is still little prevention done in Italy and among the most discouraging factors are the waiting lists. This is indicated by the latest survey by the UniSalute Health Observatory, which periodically probes, together with Nomisma, the attitude of Italians towards checks and prevention visits. The research involved a representative sample of 1,200 people, between 18 and 75 years old, interviewed in 2023.

In addition to expectations, some Italians are held back by organizational problems: 22% would check themselves more if there were greater availability of dates and times. Among the positive data: almost all of the sample (93%) say they have turned to their GP at least once in 2023. In the last 12 months, 4 out of 5 Italians (80%) have also had blood tests carried out, with women being more careful (83% have carried them out) than men (77%). However, many specialist visits are still decidedly neglected: more than one Italian in 3 (35%), for example, has not had a dental visit or dental hygiene for over 3 years, and 44% have never had a dermatological visit for the evaluation of moles.

In addition to waiting times, in many cases economic considerations also have an impact: among those who have not had any preventive tests for over 3 years, as many as 36% cite too high costs as the reason and 47% say they would carry out more if they were free. But the survey also highlights how much the poor culture of prevention weighs on Italians' decisions: around 2 out of 3 (64%) confess to avoiding visits, postponing them in the event of negligible health problems (48%) or admitting to trying to have them as little as possible (16%). Finally, almost one in 2 (45%) declares that they prefer to seek treatment only when they begin to suffer from a real disorder or illness.