Pediatric health mobility: is it only an italian problem?

Abstract

Intra-regional, extra-regional and international health mobility are important phenomena for regional and national healthcare planning. Pediatric data on this topic are scarce. We therefore conducted a systematic literature search on the PubMed database. Because of the insufficiency of published data we also resorted to conference proceedings and publications retrieved by Google Scholar and Google search engines. Thirty-one articles were identified. Main components of patients mobility were looking for better quality and timely treatment, advanced technology, expertise, and major organization. Our analysis highlights that pediatric mobility causes relevant medical, sociological and financial consequences.