CareNet. Bridging healthcare's digital gap for vulnerable users with migrant backgrounds.

The digitalisation of public health services has a significant impact on access to care for vulnerable individuals, in particular those with a migrant background and no documentation. In Italy, especially in Sicily, the digital divide and the lack of digital identity hinder the right to health of this population (Italy, 1948; Italy, 1998; Ambrosini, 2010). The thesis research explores how service design can address these challenges, focusing on inclusive models such as the HUB & SPOKE in Palermo and the Human Rights Desk, virtuous examples of social and health integration (Prestileo et al., 2024; Caruso et al., 2024). The methodological approach combines regulatory analysis, quantitative and qualitative data collection, and national and international case studies. The results highlight the difficulties in accessing the National Health System, due to language and cultural barriers, especially in the case of transfer from one hospital to another (Ministry of Labour and Social Policies, n.d.; Fava, interview, 2025). Starting from this evidence, the CareNet project proposes an inclusive network that integrates a web-app and a multilingual kit to ensure continuity of care and autonomous access to the health documents of the subjects under analysis, even in the event of transfer from one city to another. This research demonstrates how service design, when applied to public policies and digital tools, can reduce structural and digital inequalities in the Italian healthcare system, helping to build more inclusive, accessible and human services (Manzini, 2015).