How we have arrived here: public health in Italy at the test of coronavirus

Abstract

The contribution analyses "How we have come here: public health in Italy to the test of the coronavirus", with attention to the context, the reading tools and the implications for policies. The hospital system, in the most serious cases, struggles to provide adequate shelter to coronavirus patients who suffer from respiratory crises and, consequently, to take care of other pathologies. But the three departments considered to be eligible for admission The "Modifiable Area Unit Problem" (MAUP) is a very well-known problem in spatial analysis, but almost always underestimated in the analysis and representation of geographical phenomena. What you want to highlight is, in a nutshell, that the analysis of this as of other phenomena strongly influenced by the type of territorial partition adopted, or is affected by MAUP (Modifiable Area Unit Problem) 4. Thank you Gianluigi Salvucci for the help provided in localizing hospitals, Lorenzo Paglione for the useful suggestions on data processing, and the many who have provided comments and suggestions following the publication of some of these analyses and considerations on facebook.

Keywords

Public health; COVID-19 pandemic; Italy; territorial indicators; public expenditure; Local authorities

JEL codes

I18; H51; H12