The questionnaire, issued by the ASST Rhodense in Milan and intended to identify any lingering symptoms of coronavirus, was being distributed to patients invited back to hospitals for check-ups.
The questions aimed to assess people’s energy levels by asking them how they were managing simple tasks, such as doing the shopping and taking public transport.
But three of the questions about preparing food, managing the home and doing the laundry were marked “only for women”.
Luca Paladini, a spokesperson for the anti-discrimination activist group Sentinelli di Milano, posted the questionnaire on his Facebook page.
The post sparked widespread outrage, with many people condemning the questionnaire as “sexist”.
Paladini, who is a recovering COVID-19 patient, was asked to fill in the form when he went to Milan’s Bollate hospital for a check-up.
“It’s strange to say the least, let alone discriminatory and ridiculous,” he told Italian daily Corriere della Sera.
The questionnaire was reportedly based on the “Lawton instrumental activities of daily living scale”, a method conceived in the US in 1969 and used mainly among elderly people to assess their ability to independently perform daily tasks.
However, in the original American questionnaire, there are no questions aimed solely at women.
As the controversy unfolded, ASST Rhodense withdrew the questionnaire, saying there had been an “error in translation” and that “there was no discriminatory intent”.
Authorities in the region are investigating the incident.
