To feel good here: the Proximity Care project's online questionnaire on health, services, sense of community for people living in Garfagnana, Media Valle del Serchio, Alta Versilia (Tuscany) continues
Awareness campaign to encourage people to continue answering questions kicks off, at the end of a pilot phase that has already involved 400 people. The research team: "Great opportunity to listen and build the future, which, to be effective, requires the contribution of as many citizens as possible"
An easy-to-fill online survey to "feel good here," in Garfagnana, Media Valle del Serchio, and Alta Versilia, gathering information from citizens, in a direct way, on issues such as use of social and health services, infrastructure and public transportation, sense of belonging, and propensity to use technologies, and which, at the end of the launch of the pilot phase, has already returned the first, valuable insights for the research team. Returning as detailed a snapshot as possible is the goal of the Population Observatory, thanks to data collected anonymously through the online questionnaire, as part of a line of the multi-year project Proximity Care, promoted by the Sant'Anna School and supported by the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Lucca.
In order to make the Observatory known to the population and, above all, to invite citizens to participate in the online questionnaire, an awareness campaign has been prepared, which starts Thursday, April 4, and which, in the coming months, will touch numerous squares in the municipalities of Garfagnana, Media Valle del Serchio, and Alta Versilia, where a special station will offer the possibility for anyone to answer, perhaps with the help of the research team to overcome any "technological barriers".
According to the research team involved in this line of Proximity Care, the data collected through the online questionnaire are of great importance to build in a shared and participatory way the future of the inland areas of the Province of Lucca. From the responses it is and will be possible to understand the strengths and weaknesses of services, but also the community resources to be brought into play for initiatives that can help improve the health and well-being of the citizenry. "This is a fundamental initiative that puts those who live in the inland areas of the province of Lucca in the spotlight. It is a great opportunity for participation that, to be truly effective, requires the contribution of as many citizens as possible," the research team stresses in launching the awareness campaign.
The pilot phase of filling out the online questionnaire involved about 400 people, and a good portion of them agreed to be part of the Population Observatory on a permanent basis, confirming their willingness to participate in periodically occurring focuses.
"Continuing to respond to the online questionnaire," concludes the research team, "means giving value and visibility to one's experience, one's needs, indicating critical issues, pointing out which services one would like to use more, which services one feels most in need of, what are the priorities for improving health and well-being in one's area. The widest participation is needed to explore all these aspects and to contribute to the change promoted by the Proximity Care project."
The results of the pilot phase
Sense of community, belonging to the territory, propensity to use technologies, services of voluntary associations active in the area, emerge as dimensions to be enhanced in order to overcome critical issues in the inland areas of the province of Lucca. In detail, people were asked to indicate from 1 (lowest) to 10 (highest) the degree of satisfaction with respect to services. The average scores reported were 5.9 for health services and 7.5 for family doctor; 5 for transportation; 5.4 for cultural activities; 5.5 for recreation and sports; 6.3 for school; and 8.9 for local voluntary associations.
Concerning the propensity to use technology: 91 percent of respondents encounter no problems with connectivity in their homes; 40 percent use apps for local public or municipal services; 69 percent are willing to experiment with new health technologies.
Regarding the sense of community and belonging, more than 70% of respondents said they are satisfied with living in Garfagnana, Media Valle del Serchio. On a scale of 1 (lowest) to 10 (highest), in reference to how much they agree with the following statements, people say they are strongly connected to the area (8 out of 10); they believe the future of the area is in the hands of the people who live here (8.1 out of 10); they want to continue to be here in the future (7.9 out of 10).
To answer the questionnaire: https://www.proximitycare.it/.
