Towards improving primary care: Considerations on a Sicilian population-based survey

BACKGROUND: The healthcare reforms have led to the development of new primary care systems. These models allowed responding to people's needs but with problems in maintaining the relational continuity between the patient and therapist. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We performed a survey on 12 May 2018, in Messina (Sicily, Italy), during an informational event. Participants were invited to fill in a self-reported Italian questionnaire composed of 12 multiple-choice questions, specifically created by the authors. The tool included the assessment of the social status, the presence of chronic diseases, preference in health care, and evaluation of the services offered in the territory. RESULTS: As for the territorial services, we observed that the general practitioner (GP) was the most appreciated healthcare provider, followed by the nurse. CONCLUSIONS: We believe that nurses can represent the most appropriate healthcare figure to potentiate GP's patient management in primary territorial care.