A healthy society guarantees access to quality healthcare, promotes healthy lifestyles, and creates environments that encourage prevention and self-care. Despite significant progress in science, technological innovation, and the organization of health systems, there are still major challenges regarding quality and access to health care and health literacy in Portugal. 

A survey carried out by Médis in partnership with Return on Ideas listened to more than 1,000 Portuguese people about how they assess their own health and how this perception has evolvedbetween 2021 and 2024:

• 53% of users of health services, public or private, consider the quality of the services to which they have access to be high or very high. 
• 26% of the population has difficulty accessing health services and 43% feel they don’t have enough financial resources to deal with their health problems. 
• 38% of respondents consider their health literacy to be reasonable. This percentage rises to 51% among people 75+. 
• 44% score below ‘fairly’ healthy in their perception of their state of health. 

Health literacy was, of all indicators, the one that increased the most, the one where the Portuguese, compared to 2021, think they are better off. Fewer people consider themselves unhealthy, however. According to the study, difficulties in accessing healthcare are greater in the Algarve, and people diagnosed with mental illness report the greatest difficulties, as do those on lower incomes. 

“Although this intention is increasing, there is a gap between the perceived effort and the effort made, which is given by the Health Power Indicator. Only 20% of the population has ‘a high or very high potency’, which means that only 20% behave in a way that is consistent with a high health ambition. There are still gaps between desire and action; but recognizing potential is the beginning of all hope,” the authors conclude.

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Source: BI da Saúde 2024