On the occasion of World Mental Health Day, from October 8 to 11, the Fondazione Onda ETS promotes the first edition of the (H) Open Weekend on brain health, involving more than 120 hospitals in the network with the Pink Seal and the facilities dedicated to mental health.
The initiative represents an evolution of the (H) Open Day on mental health, expanding its reach to promote an integrated view of brain health, in which neurology and psychiatry collaborate to detect population health needs early and guide people toward appropriate pathways for diagnosis, treatment, and care.
Francesca Merzagora, president of Fondazione Onda ETS, states: «Mental health is a front line that Fondazione Onda has been working on for twenty years, starting from the earliest studies dedicated to women’s psychiatric conditions to the latest research on schizophrenia and territorial management of illness. This path has allowed us to measure up close the distance that still separates people from care: our surveys show how lack of information, distrust of treatments, and premature discontinuation of therapies remain tangible obstacles, fueled by stigma that continues to weigh on those living with a mental disorder and on their families, who are often left to cope on their own. With the new (H) Open Weekend on brain health, we want to offer citizens free access to qualified services and help build a culture of mental health free from prejudice, where prevention and early diagnosis truly become accessible to everyone.»
Claudio Mencacci, co-president of the Italian Society of NeuroPsychoPharmacology (SINPF), emeritus director of the Department of Neuroscience and Mental Health at ASST Fatebenefratelli – Sacco in Milan, and president of the technical-scientific committee of Fondazione Onda ETS, comments: «Brain health has no age; we must learn to protect it from childhood onward, every day of life. Today in our country, people suffering from neurological diseases and mental disorders number about 1 in 3 (20 million), confirming that brain health concerns everyone at every stage of life. Brain diseases tend to rise due to exposure to various risk factors and the failure to adopt healthy lifestyles. Many risk factors are modifiable through prevention, early interventions, and healthy living, underscoring that caring for the brain should be a public health priority.»
The Numbers in Italy
In Italy, the phenomenon is significant. According to the latest estimates, people living with dementia are now over 1,430,000, a number expected to rise to about 2,200,000 by 2050. Migraine affects more than 8 million Italians, with a clear predominance of women, while about 600,000 people live with epilepsy.
On the mental health front, ISTAT estimates that 3.7 million people (7% of the population aged 14 and over) have suffered in the last year from anxiety and depressive disorders, and in 2024 alone more than 845,000 people sought help from the mental health departments of Italy’s National Health Service. Eating and nutrition disorders are also rising sharply, now affecting over 3 million people, compared with about 300,000 at the start of the early 2000s.
The Initiative
During the four days, the following services will be offered free of charge:
- neurological and psychiatric visits,
- psychological interviews,
- dementia risk screening tests,
- neuropsychological assessments,
- electroencephalograms,
- listening desks,
- informational sessions dedicated to the main neurological diseases and mental disorders, including migraine, Alzheimer’s disease, epilepsy, anxiety, depression, mood disorders, sleep disorders, schizophrenia, and eating disorders.
The services offered are listed online on the Fondazione Onda ETS website.
Abbonati a Karla Miller
