site.bta87% of Bulgarians Have Not Used State Preventive Healthcare Programmes, Study Shows

According to a Trend survey, 87% of Bulgarians have never used a State-funded preventive healthcare programme. The study, commissioned by the Bulgarian Union of Balneology and SPA Tourism (BUBSPA), was presented by the organisation here on Friday.

The results show that 52% of adult Bulgarians are aware of the healing properties of Bulgarian balneological resorts. Those who have used a State-funded preventive healthcare programme are mainly people aged over 60. Those in the 40-60 age group have also expressed a willingness to participate in government-offered programmes of this kind. More than half of those surveyed said they would take advantage of the natural healing properties of mineral baths and climatotherapy at Bulgarian balneological resorts.

BUBSPA President Siyka Katsarova commented that institutions should focus on popularizing the use of these resources, which should be done through national-level efforts. She believes that the relevant Ministries of Health and Tourism must support increased funding for these areas to improve the health of the Bulgarian population.

Katsarova also mentioned that a motivating factor is that every euro invested in preventive healthcare saves EUR 7 in treatment costs per patient, according to a study by the German Medical Wellness Association.

In a September interview with BTA, Katsarova said that Bulgaria has positioned itself as a competitive health tourism destination by offering quality European-level services. 

She also pointed out that, according to Ministry of Tourism data as of June 30, there were 44 medical spas, 110 spas and 35 wellness centres registered in the country. The BUBSPA President added that she could not estimate the investment in these centres, but suggested it was in the hundreds of millions.