19 July 2010

The Italian legislation on Health Impact Assessment: the current national and regional regulatory framework

Interestingly there is an Italian HIA network see the authors below. Love to hear more about this network and what they are doing.

Abstract
The scientific literature on HIA is particularly rich in Anglo-Saxon countries (United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand), in Sweden and in the Netherlands, while in Italy there are not many scientific studies published on this theme. The study conducted showed that in Italy no laws relating to HIA have been enacted yet and that all laws enacted so far considered only EIA. Actually, legislation on environmental impact is in continuous expansion, even if at present, some regions have not yet passed a specified EIA-dealing law. In Italy the protection of health is promoted almost exclusively at a strictly medical level; decisions with strong social and environmental impact are not normally designed with particular regard to health issues. To increase in our country the interest for HIA, it would seem appropriate to discuss the usefulness of introducing health impact assessment in national and regional legislation. A possible law may indeed sensitize non-health decision makers to HIA, bringing Italy among the most innovative countries.
The main article is in Italian and can be found at Ann Ig. 2010 Mar-Apr;22(2):147-55.

Authors:
Bert F, Ceruti M, Colombo A, Lovato E, Bruno S, Costa G, Liguori G, Manzoli L, Siliquini R; Network Italiano HIA.

Collaborators:
Scuola di Specializzazione in Igiene e Medicina Preventiva, Università degli Studi di Torino.Geraci S, De Vito E, Baglio G, Ricciardi W, Bruno S, Specchia ML, De Waure C, Manzoli L, Liguori G, Scaletti A, Del Cimmuto A, Pocetta G, Capunzo M, Boccia G, Cavallo P, Nante N, Lupoli A, Siliquini R, Costa G, Versino E.

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