The Italian Health Care Reform Experience: Which Role for Nursing?

Abstract

During the 1990s, several reforms were initiated in the Italian Health Care System that were aimed at introducing a managerial culture into the health services environment, similar to what the United States, Great Britain, and other European countries had already done. Thus, health care delivery experienced several changes yielding a higher quality of care, more services for the elderly, and the availability of new technologies. To face the new sociological values and the new demand for health care services, the role of the nursing staff has become crucial. In consideration, therefore, of the principles of personalization, efficiency, quality, and humanization stemming from the reforms of the National Health Care System, the role of the nursing staff must be strengthened. This article, in light of the theories of public sector management and case analysis, aims at describing Italian nursing in the evolutionary sense, pointing out key factors for a successful collaboration with other health care actors.