TY  -  JOUR
AU  -  Giovannini, Claudio
AU  -  Sisti, Leuconoe Grazia
T1  -  Migrants’ culture and religion impact on gender and implication for healthcare in Italy
PY  -  2026
Y1  -  2026-01-01
DO  -  10.1723/4653.46678
JO  -  Journal of Sex- and Gender-Specific Medicine
JA  -  J Sex Gender Specif Med
VL  -  12
IS  -  1
SP  -  39
EP  -  45
PB  -  Il Pensiero Scientifico Editore
SN  -  2974-8623
Y2  -  2026/04/25
UR  -  http://dx.doi.org/10.1723/4653.46678
N2  -  Summary. Foreigners living in Italy represent 9% of the total population of the country. They come from more than 200 different countries and profess religions for the most part different from the Catholic one, bringing with them behavioral models dependent both on religion and on the culture of their place of origin. Both those aspects, besides additional barriers immigrants may face (e.g., administrative and linguistic ones) may impact health and healthcare utilization. Thus, to fulfill the principles of the National Health Service (NHS) and offer effective and personalised care, the healthcare services are called upon to acknowledge those specificities and to address barriers to care they may represent. Among those aspects, gender – influenced both by religion and culture, as a whole – can influence factors such as the propensity to health-seeking behaviour or the relationship with health practitioners and thus generate discrimination and inequalities in unprepared health services. Our health workers also face new health challenges related to different cultures. Female genital mutilation and ‘home-made’ male circumcisions represent some of these issues. Proper training of health administrators and health workers is advisable to offer culturally sensitive health services that meet the universalist goal of our health system. Moreover, the development of this awareness and competence could be beneficial for the humanization of care, for all.
ER  -