Supporting Non-Communicable Disease Patients in Time of The Covid-19 Pandemic: From Motivating Them to Qualifying the Role of Their Caregivers

Abstract

Evidence collected globally during the pandemic show that Covid-19 has had a significant impact on patients suffering from non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Indeed, oncological and chronic patients have been left almost alone for several months, especially during the first wave of the pandemic. At the European level, the hope is that the measures adopted thanks to the Next Generation EU Fund [1] can have, in the shortest period possible, a significant impact towards more resilient healthcare systems in each Member State, in which the issue of health acts as a key element within their National Resilience and Recovery Plans (NRRPs). In addition to this, it is extremely essential to act on two sides: to motivate patients to not neglect their treatment path, and to support as much as possible the ones who informally help them in the shadow. In fact, behind every sick person there is often a caregiver, for many of whom every day the work of care takes up almost all of their daily time, with considerable expenditure of physical and mental energy. What is the situation of caregivers across Europe? While challenges faced by patients are a frequently discussed topic, not much is known about the issues caregivers face daily. To shed light on the latter in Italy has been a civic survey carried out along 2020 by the Italian NGO Cittadinanzattiva [2], engaged also at the European level in order to motivate patients and, as an Ambassador of the EU Pillar of Social Rights [3], committed with EU institutions to implement the 20 principles of the Pillar for the benefit of both patients and their caregivers.