Public Health Regulations and Policies Dealing with Preparedness and Emergency Management: The Experience of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Italy

Aristei, Luna; D’Ambrosio, Floriana; Villani, Leonardo; Rossi, Maria Francesca; Daniele, Alessandra; Amantea, Carlotta; Damiani, Gianfranco; Laurenti, Patrizia; Ricciardi, Walter; Gualano, Maria Rosaria; Moscato, Umberto

doi:10.3390/ijerph19031091

Open AccessCommentary

Public Health Regulations and Policies Dealing with Preparedness and Emergency Management: The Experience of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Italy

by

Luna Aristei

¹,

Floriana D’Ambrosio

²

,

Leonardo Villani

^2,*

,

Maria Francesca Rossi

³

,

Alessandra Daniele

³

,

Carlotta Amantea

³,

Gianfranco Damiani

^2,4

,

Patrizia Laurenti

^2,4

,

Walter Ricciardi

²

,

Maria Rosaria Gualano

⁵ and

Umberto Moscato

^2,3,6

¹

Department of Law, LUISS Guido Carli University, 00198 Rome, Italy

²

Section of Hygiene, University Department of Life Sciences and Public Health, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, 00168 Rome, Italy

³

Section of Occupational Health, Department of Woman and Child Health and Public Health, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, 00168 Rome, Italy

⁴

Department of Woman and Child Health and Public Health, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli, IRCCS, 00168 Rome, Italy

⁵

Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Turin, 10124 Turin, Italy

⁶

Section of Occupational Health, Department of Woman and Child Health and Public Health, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli, IRCCS, 00168 Rome, Italy

^*

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(3), 1091; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19031091

Submission received: 30 December 2021 / Revised: 13 January 2022 / Accepted: 17 January 2022 / Published: 19 January 2022

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Disasters Preparedness and Emergency Response: Prevention, Surveillance and Mitigation Planning)

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Abstract

Worldwide, the management of health emergencies requires a high degree of preparedness and resilience on the part of governments and health systems. Indeed, disasters are becoming increasingly common, with significant health, social, and economic impacts. Living in a globalized world also means that emergencies that occur in one country often have an international, in some cases global, spread: the COVID-19 pandemic is a cogent example. The key elements in emergency management are central governance, coordination, investment of resources before the emergency occurs, and preparedness to deal with it at all levels. However, several factors might condition the response to the emergency, highlighting, as for Italy, strengths and weaknesses. In this context, policies and regulation of actions to be implemented at international and national level must be up-to-date, clear, transparent and, above all, feasible and implementable. Likewise, the allocation of resources to develop adequate preparedness plans is critical. Due to COVID-19 pandemic, the European Commission proposed the temporary recovery instrument NextGenerationEU, as well as a targeted reinforcement of the European Union’s long-term budget for the period 2021–2027. The pandemic highlighted that it is necessary to interrupt the continuous defunding of the health sector, allocating funds especially in prevention, training and information activities: indeed, a greater and more aware public attention on health risks and on the impacts of emergencies can help to promote virtuous changes, sharing contents and information that act as a guide for the population.

Keywords: health emergency; management; disaster legislation; preparedness; COVID-19

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MDPI and ACS Style

Aristei, L.; D’Ambrosio, F.; Villani, L.; Rossi, M.F.; Daniele, A.; Amantea, C.; Damiani, G.; Laurenti, P.; Ricciardi, W.; Gualano, M.R.; et al. Public Health Regulations and Policies Dealing with Preparedness and Emergency Management: The Experience of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Italy. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19, 1091. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19031091

AMA Style

Aristei L, D’Ambrosio F, Villani L, Rossi MF, Daniele A, Amantea C, Damiani G, Laurenti P, Ricciardi W, Gualano MR, et al. Public Health Regulations and Policies Dealing with Preparedness and Emergency Management: The Experience of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Italy. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2022; 19(3):1091. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19031091

Chicago/Turabian Style

Aristei, Luna, Floriana D’Ambrosio, Leonardo Villani, Maria Francesca Rossi, Alessandra Daniele, Carlotta Amantea, Gianfranco Damiani, Patrizia Laurenti, Walter Ricciardi, Maria Rosaria Gualano, and et al. 2022. "Public Health Regulations and Policies Dealing with Preparedness and Emergency Management: The Experience of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Italy" International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 19, no. 3: 1091. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19031091

APA Style

Aristei, L., D’Ambrosio, F., Villani, L., Rossi, M. F., Daniele, A., Amantea, C., Damiani, G., Laurenti, P., Ricciardi, W., Gualano, M. R., & Moscato, U. (2022). Public Health Regulations and Policies Dealing with Preparedness and Emergency Management: The Experience of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Italy. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(3), 1091. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19031091

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