Evaluation of EMERGENCY’s socio-health care interventions in support of the vulnerable population of urban suburbs in Sardinia and Campania

Title Programma ITALIA  social and health care interventions in Italy

Location Castelvolturno, Napoli Ponticelli, Sassari – Italy

Duration 1 year (2024)

Client EMERGENCY

Funding Fondo Beneficienza Intesa Sanpaolo

 

Context

EMERGENCY’s Programma ITALIA was set up in 2006. Despite the right to health being listed as a fundamental right in the Italian Constitution and the Italian health system being inspired by a model based on universal health coverage, the most vulnerable groups do not always enjoy full access to healthcare services, and therefore to health. The universalist component of public services is the fundamental pillar of healthcare in Italy, and EMERGENCY’s approach to health starts precisely from the universalism of care and the need to make public services accessible.

The Programma ITALIA includes multiple projects across the country that offer fixed or mobile clinics from Marghera to Sassari, from Milan to Naples, from Castelvolturno to Ragusa. In all these contexts EMERGENCY offers different services according to need, all aimed at facilitating access to the services that the Italian National Health Service should guarantee. This leads to a territorial action that seeks synergies with public institutions in order to offer a service that is fully integrated. All the interventions of the Programma ITALIA are related to the strengthening of Primary Health Care as a universal health model, through the facilitation of access to the Italian NHS.

Primary Health Care is a comprehensive approach to health that incorporates three interconnected and synergistic components:

  • People’s health needs are met through a process of care that provides lifelong care. Priority is given to key health services for individuals and families through primary care and for the population through public health institutions.
  • Systematic management of all broader determinants of health (social, economic and contextual) takes place through informed policies and cross-cutting actions.
  • Empowerment of women, men, families and communities focuses on optimising health and involving people in policies that promote health and well-being.

 

General Objective

The Equity and Health Unit was involved in the project to carry out an evaluation of the ITALIA Programme interventions that received funding from the Intesa Sanpaolo Fund, covering, in the first year, the clinics in Naples Ponticelli, Castel Volturno and Sassari, and, in the second year, the clinics in Naples Ponticelli, Sassari and Marghera.

 

Our contribution

To evaluate the project’s interventions, the research team used the healthcare accessibility framework developed by Levesque et al. (2013), which enables the assessment of factors relating to both the ‘supply’ of healthcare services and the ‘demand’ for care.

The methodology is based on the application of mixed methods—both qualitative and quantitative—which in turn enable complex phenomena to be captured and articulated within an integrated and comprehensive analysis. In particular, the methodology involves both the collection of primary qualitative data, through interviews and focus groups in the field, and the analysis of questionnaires and secondary data provided by the project staff.

The research team has involved the project staff in participatory activities to gain a deeper understanding of the context of the project activities and to study the changes brought about in terms of users’ well-being and improved access to the NHS in the communities concerned.
Furthermore, in collaboration with EMERGENCY staff, ARCO has developed a questionnaire on barriers to accessing social and health services, aimed at users of the clinics. The data collected in this way allows the evaluation work to be situated within a broader context, taking into account the factors that most significantly affect the actual opportunity to use services when needed and thus identifying the most critical issues addressed by the intervention.

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