Health · Healthcare & Policy · 6 hrs ago
Many older Italians need palliative care, but services are missing in over a third of facilities
A study of 5,400 older people in 235 Italian facilities found that 58% of older hospital patients and 48% of nursing-home residents need palliative care.
Yet more than a third of hospitals and nursing homes lack these services.
Palliative care can help people with serious illness manage symptoms and is not only for the final days of life or for cancer patients.
Many older people in the study had several chronic illnesses, and pain affected about half of those with palliative care needs.
Dementia was linked to greater need: 65.6% of people with dementia needed palliative care, compared with 44.9% of those without it.
Italy's 2023 budget law set a goal of providing care by 2028 to 90% of people who need it.
Current coverage includes about 52,500 people in hospices and 100,000 at home, and the study's authors say these numbers remain too low for universal access.
A study found that 58% of older hospital patients and 48% of nursing-home residents in Italy need palliative care.
More than a third of hospital wards and long-term residential care facilities do not offer these services.
The study examined 5,400 older people in 235 facilities.
Researchers say palliative care is needed for people with chronic illness, not only in the final days of life.
Italy’s 2023 Budget Law set a goal of providing palliative care by 2028 to 90% of people who need it.
- Who
- Older hospital patients and nursing-home residents in Italy; researchers from the Italian Society of Gerontology and Geriatrics and other groups conducted the study.
- What
- A study found widespread need for palliative care and gaps in its availability.
- When
- The findings were reported on 9 November 2026.
- Where
- Hospitals and long-term residential care facilities in Italy.
- Why
- Many older people have multiple debilitating chronic illnesses that require a palliative approach.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Italy’s Budget Law set a goal of providing palliative care by 2028 to 90% of people who need it.
ANSA reported the study findings on palliative care needs and service availability.
- Older hospital patients needing palliative care
- 58%
- Nursing-home residents needing palliative care
- 48%
- Facilities without palliative care
- More than a third of hospital wards and long-term residential care facilities
- Study sample
- 5,400 older people in 235 facilities
- 2028 target
- Palliative care for 90% of people who need it
2 sources
What people are saying
Palliative care is traditionally associated with hospice care and cancer treatment. However, most older people in hospital and nursing homes often have several debilitating chronic illnesses, which require a palliative approach not only in the last days of life.
Dementia, present in half of the sample, is a factor of particular vulnerability: the need for palliative care concerns 65.6% of those who suffer from it, compared with 44.9% of those who do not.
These data therefore indicate the priority of adopting a palliative approach not only for older people receiving care at home or in hospices.
The 2023 Budget Law set the goal of ensuring coverage by 2028 for 90% of those who need it.