The neurosurgical immigrant experience in Italy: analysis of a northeast tertiary center.

Abstract

Abstract Introduction: Italy’s immigrant population has risen for the last two decades. Integration into society, including access to healthcare, is critical for the well-being of these individuals. We analyzed two groups: regular immigrants and Italians, to determine whether immigrant and native Italian populations receive different care. Methods: inpatient and outpatient medical records were collected from January 2017 to December 2021. We abstracted: identification code, nationality, sex, age, ICD-9 codes, date of the first visit, date of additional visits, and data on surgical intervention. ICD-9 codes were utilized to categorize patients based on their pathologies. Patients were grouped according to their geographical origin: European Union (EU), Central and Eastern Europe, North, Central, and South Africa, and North and Central and South America. Results: more patients from Asia and Africa presented to inpatient than outpatient clinics (p-value: 0.001). Median age was lower for Asian and Eastern European patients than EU ones. More patients presented with acute spine pain (p-value: 0.001) as inpatients, while outpatients presented more for degenerative spine issues (p-value: <0.001) but less for brain neoplasms (p-value: 0.009). Additional visit rates were higher for immigrants than Italians (IRR 1.32 visit- year, 95% CI 0.99–1.77 visits - year, p-value: 0.06), especially when spinal and younger patients. Conclusions: access to emergency care and additional visits was more prevalent in the recent immigrant population, especially from Asia, reflecting unconsolidated health habits. Immigrants from Central and Eastern Europe or North Africa seem fully integrated.