The two-year project is carried out in collaboration with ASL Romagna and the University of Turin. An evaluation model will be developed to understand how the equity approach is respected and implemented in regional prevention plans
January 16, 2024 – The Ministry of Health chooses Emilia-Romagna come Lead region of the project “Governance for equity in regional prevention plans 2020-2025”, which will last two years and will be created in collaboration with Local health authority Romagna e University of Turin.
The Region has now become a partner of the ministry in this area for years national coordinator of monitoring and accompaniment activities for the development of the ‘equity’ action in the Prevention Plans of all Italian Regions and autonomous Provinces. Why Emilia-Romagna? Because, in its Plan, it has an already structured and mature equity governance system, which can form the basis for develop a reference model in the country.
To monitor, but above all encourage the adoption of a health equity approach in individual regional Prevention Plans, the project therefore envisages the definition of a system that will have a dual objective: to understand and evaluate how individual Regions have already implemented this approach in their Plans; accompany them in the sharing and use of qualitative and quantitative indicators at the basis of an evaluation model of the governance structure, the definition/implementation of equity-oriented actions and the impact on social inequalities in health.
Il evaluation model takes as reference the experience of Emilia-Romagnabut it does not have to be the same for everyone, since the different Regions are called upon to respect, when drawing up the Plans, structural and contextual constraints, as well as specific programming objectives, which inevitably generate differences between the territories.
The concept of equity is fundamental in a public and universal healthcare system such as that of Emilia-Romagna, which must be capable not only of offering everyone the same opportunities for access and treatment, but of allowing everyone to reach a level of adequate health, through interventions proportionate to their respective needs.
To give an example, the plan of the Prevention Plan dedicated to screening starts from the observation that the active offer does not always guarantee real accessibility to the service, which also depends on factors such as knowledge of the Italian language and the level of information that a citizen possesses; consequently, the PRP of Emilia-Romagna proposes interventions aimed at strengthening communication as priorities, with actions aimed in particular at foreign women who do not participate, for example, in screening for the prevention of cervical or breast cancer .
The PRP of Emilia-Romagna
The Regional Prevention Plan is the reference tool for the interventions and programs implemented by the Regional Health Service for protect and promote the health of the populationdeveloped starting from the guidelines provided by the National Prevention Plan 2020-2025 of the Ministry of Health and integrated with necessary actions at regional level in light of the epidemiological framework and the specificity of local data.
In Emilia-Romagna the PRP 2021-2025 is divided into 20 programs grouped by thematic areas – healthy lifestyles and chronic diseases, communicable diseases, environment, climate and health, safety and health in the living and working environment – and aimed at promoting health in all policies. Furthermore, the Plan envisages a series of transversal actions aimed at ensuring integration and networking between different sectors, investment in training, communication and social marketing, but above all at safeguard the fairness of the system through differentiated strategies.
Right at guarantee and strengthen transversal equity action in the various areas of the Regions’ prevention plans aims to project of which Emilia-Romagna is the leader.