Dinamiche di comunità nel perseguimento della Global Health: Casi studio nel contesto italiano

As Global Health becomes the internationally agreed concept describing the tackling of citizens well-being, a paradigm shift accompanies the strategic addressing of the right of people to live in healthy conditions. If to health is attached a new definition, for the mere absence of malady is a poor one, new strategies must serve the purpose of eliminating global health threats. Besides the existence of pathogens, the global community has identified a common factor leading to poor health, or poor social and economic environment. The sphere of the social determinants of health has in fact invaded the health debate, once proven the existence of huge health disparities across the globe and within countries, among class-based districts of the same city. This dissertation is articulated in three parts. The first one focuses on the Global Health significance and discussion, tracing the historical line which has led to the current definition of health by the World Health Organization and the international academic community. The reflection goes deep into the many facets of the subject, going from the mental health component to the mechanisms behind the “health gap” separating classes, regions, and countries.The analysis of some Italian case studies shows how the tackling of the social determinants may effectively work and lead to positive health outcomes, as well as revealing how a reshape of the system of national public health in a communitarian sense is possible. Behind the Triestin Microaree project, as well as the Emilian Community Lab framework and Piazza Grande initiatives lies a conceptualization of health which considers the clinical assistance only one part of wellbeing promotion, and the practical realization of the precepts listed before, or the centrality of relationships and a renovated idea of Health care assistance.