Survey ‘Youth and Healthcare’, 4 out of 10 trust the NHS but access obstacles must be overcome

In case of illness or medical needs, 41% of young Italians between 18 and 30 say they are convinced that the National Health Service (NHS) can offer them the best available care and the most advanced scientific innovations. When asked about the future of healthcare, young Italians focus on overcoming differences, starting with socioeconomic differences (income, economic status, profession, etc.) considered by 7 out of 10 ‘under 30’ (69.6%) as the main cause of inequalities in access to healthcare. Next, 45.9% highlight geographical differences in the quality of available healthcare services, but ethnic differences are also considered relevant by 30.4%, as are intergenerational differences (25.3%) and gender differences (24.2%).

This is the snapshot taken by the survey ‘Young people and healthcare: the future we want’, promoted by Novartis and presented during a closed-door meeting with health experts. The survey – as stated in a note – is part of the path that the company has undertaken alongside all the actors of the country system with, in the foreground, listening to the new generations. For this reason **6 working tables** have been activated with over 40 under 35s and a subsequent listening Board with various healthcare interlocutors, to identify the vision and expectations of young people towards the healthcare of the future.

“At Novartis, we are convinced that, to concretely improve people’s lives, innovation must be supported by a collective commitment aimed at ensuring fair and timely access to care, so that innovation is actually available to those who need it – comments Valentino Confalone, Country President Novartis Italy – This is why we work alongside institutions, the medical community and patients, on various fronts of action, to promote the evolution of healthcare towards new models capable of addressing the challenges that await us. Added to this is listening and open dialogue with the new generations, which represent a fundamental starting point for reimagining the future of healthcare”. To address the healthcare challenges of the future, according to young people aged 18 to 29, investments in scientific research (26.8%) and greater economic resources (19.1%) are priorities, while for the ‘over 30s’, new hiring of doctors and nurses comes first (25.5% over 30 vs 13.9% under 30).

For half of young people (55.7%), socioeconomic differences represent the top priority on which to focus interventions aimed at ensuring fair and accessible healthcare for all. Compared to previous generations, the gap between young and old increases to 10 percentage points with regard to the priority given to ethnic differences as a priority factor on which to intervene to ensure fair healthcare (13.9% under 30 vs 3.7% over 30).

“Young people are more sensitive than previous generations regarding the inequalities generated in healthcare by ethnic and gender differences – explains Cosimo Finzi, director of AstraRicerche – A gap that also emerges in other areas, where young people are generally more optimistic than those over 30. For example, when asked about the accessibility of NHS services for citizens, 37.6% of young people under 30 believe that NHS services are physically close and accessible to citizens. The majority of over 30s, on the other hand, express themselves in less positive terms, with only 30.3% giving a positive assessment and a full 34.5% believing that the services are little or not at all accessible”.

Regarding their health, almost 8 out of 10 young Italians declare themselves aware of the importance of prevention (76.8%) and 58.2% state that they undergo preventive visits and tests every 1 or 2 years (58.2%). Cancer prevention is in first place in terms of importance attributed (74.7%), but young people attribute more importance than previous generations to prevention for mental health (45.9% vs 30.3%) and infectious diseases (43.3% vs 28.8%).

**After the working tables and a Board of listening and discussion** with some interlocutors of the health system, the Novartis ‘Partner for the Future’ project will continue with a work path with the institutions that will lead to the definition of concrete lines of action to intervene on the key issues that emerged from the working tables and confirmed by the survey, such as prevention and access to innovation, with the aim of reducing health inequalities.

‘Partner for the Future’, the note concludes, is the backdrop to the investment plan in Italy of approximately 350 million euros by 2025, with projects that aim to enhance the quality and attractiveness of the Italian health system at a European and global level.