Let’s not talk about Doctor Google, for once. But let’s try to understand how and to what extent technology and Artificial Intelligence can accompany us to improve knowledge. And consequently well-being.
In short: how is the health literacy process of Italians going? An answer comes, at least for the chapter on small everyday ailments, from a Censis report, produced for Assosalute, also in light of the challenge that presents itself, that is, ensuring that technology can increasingly represent a precious ally in strengthening and not weakening citizens’ skills.
What Italians ask for
The Censis Report highlights how digital transformation and the arrival of Artificial Intelligence (AI) are profoundly changing the way Italians get information about health. Almost 1 in 2 (49.6%) already use AI chatbots to search for information on minor ailments and over-the-counter medicines, a percentage that exceeds 70% among young people. The majority maintains a critical approach, but a growing share of users who rely on AI uncritically: 37% do not delve into the information or cross-check it only with informal networks (friends, relatives, etc.) or digital ones, of which 17.3% do so only on the internet or social media, risking remaining in a virtual information “bubble”.
In a context in which 37.9% of Italians say they have come across fake health news, a strong demand for guarantees emerges: over three quarters (77.6%) ask for certified health information, and 65.8% hope for the creation of apps and official sites dedicated to consultations for minor ailments and self-medication drugs.
Risks and benefits of AI
The research highlights how AI, if used correctly as a tool and not as an end, can contribute to strengthening health literacy, facilitating access to reliable and up-to-date information. In fact, the Censis survey shows that 44.8% of Italians believe that AI will become increasingly reliable in the health sector, but the vast majority (75.9%) continues to consider the skills and experience of healthcare professionals irreplaceable.
The real added value will therefore be in integration: digital tools and AI to support human relationships, never as a replacement. In short, even in the management of minor ailments, health literacy is a widespread asset that must be protected and preserved. This was reported by Francesco Maietta, Head of Consumption and Welfare Markets Area at Censis:
“Our Report confirms that responsible self-medication is a true social asset for the country: it allows people to independently manage small ailments, reducing the pressure on the National Health Service and generating benefits for the entire community. This is possible thanks to a level of health literacy that in Italy is solid and widespread, the result of a culture of responsibility developed over time, in which the role of doctors and pharmacists remains central. However, the digital revolution and the arrival of Artificial Intelligence are profoundly changing the way where citizens get information.”
More informed people
The survey shows that we cannot remain inactive, but we need to invest even more in health literacy and in the promotion of reliable sources, accompanying citizens in the conscious use of new technologies. In short: inaction is no longer an option, we need collective mobilization – involving, in the first instance, institutions, health professionals, media representatives – to promote, in terms of health and care, the empowerment of citizens, especially the youngest, and to guarantee, at all levels, a government aware of the digital phenomenon.
Studying self-medication, in short, means starting from important fixed points, especially when talking about drugs that are a fixed point in the information leaflet. According to Censis data, the Italian self-medication model is based on a high level of health literacy. Italians not only recognize the importance and usefulness of the information leaflet, to which they widely refer, but they move with caution in the information landscape, favoring the advice of doctors and pharmacists (86.6% consult them at least occasionally, in case of doubts) and showing a strong propensity to verify the information.
The value of the person
Doctors and pharmacists are in fact perceived as equivalent pillars: their presence represents a guarantee of reliability and “humanization” in the relationship with the citizen. There are many sources of information, but the centrality of healthcare professionals remains undisputed: 48.2% turn to the general practitioner, 47.9% to the pharmacist, while only 24.1% look for information online (Google), reconfirming the value of relationships and human experience compared to the virtual world.
“Responsible self-medication has an extraordinary social and health value: it allows citizens to manage minor ailments independently, or with the advice of the pharmacist and then the family doctor, contributing to a more efficient use of the resources of the Health Service”
indicates Michele Albero, President of Federchimica Assosalute.
“Self-medication drugs are an integral part of the daily life of Italians and have favored the spread of a health culture, based on responsibility and awareness. Today, in a context of increasingly accessible and immediate information, it is essential to know how to distinguish scientific data from misleading content to preserve the quality of our health culture”.
