Abstract for: A Research Framework To Design Sustainable Patients’ Mobility Policies In Sicily

The movements of patients seeking public healthcare treatments out of their territorial jurisdiction is currently a policy makers’ concern, both at international and national level, due to the socio-economic implications of this phenomenon. This paper presents the research framework of a project being carried out on the patients’ mobility flows from Sicily towards other Italian regions. Such study, undertaken with the collaboration of the Sicilian Regional Healthcare Department, aims to build a System Dynamics model to support the design and implementation of sustainable patients’ mobility-related policies. Main features of the research are presented and discussed, together with the first outcomes of the preliminary cause-and-effect model.