La sanità pubblica nelle grandi crisi economico-sociali
Cosmacini, G.
Annali di Igiene 26(3 Suppl 1): 3-7
2014
ISSN/ISBN: 1120-9135 PMID: 25508827 Document Number: 673523
The term "crisis" in different cultures (such as ancient Greece or China) can have a positive meaning, since it indicates a time of growth, change and opportunity. Over the centuries there have been times of severe economic and social crisis that led to the implementation of major reforms and improved population health. Nowadays, despite the new economic crisis which has also affected health care for its rising costs, health economics does not hesitate to affirm the importance of key objectives such as prevention and medical assistance. Prevention is not prediction. Prevention means "going upstream" and fixing a problem at the source; the goal is to reduce diseases' effects, causes and risk factors, thereby reducing the prevalence of costly medical conditions.