Gender differences are particularly evident in economically disadvantaged or minority population subgroups. A relevant part of the population living in Italy, represented by immigrants, both resident and non-resident (> 8%), presents new and unknown problems to the Italian National Health Service (NHS) related to different concepts of health, disease and gender that are strongly determined by culture and religion.
The task of the NHS is to guarantee the access to prevention, diagnosis and treatment services to each individual present on the national territory, regardless of gender, religion or ethnicity.
The Istituto Superiore di Sanità (ISS, the National Institute of Health in Italy) has been carrying out information and interventions for the immigrant population and for training and updating courses for healthcare workers.
