Identificazione dei fattori di rischio e di protezione: gli studi di epidemiologia analitica

[Autom. eng. transl.] Epidemiology is undoubtedly a fundamental tool for those working in healthcare. The methods of analytical epidemiology can be applied both to the study of the determinants of health phenomena, and to the aspects of evaluation of primary and secondary prevention interventions, therapeutic, rehabilitative and health planning; thus contributing to the understanding of the same phenomena and their "evolution", both in the individual and in the general population. Such methods should therefore find more space in the field of health services research and health planning and planning. In particular, as application frontiers, the analysis of health needs and demands as well as the impact of technologies (HTA) and health and non-health policies (HIA) can be reported. In fact, the epidemiology still finds little space in the punctual analysis of the needs and in the consequent definition of the offer of services in the health field, although in the literature the centrality of this discipline for this type of analysis is widely supported. Looking at the Italian panorama, the scarce presence of specific epidemiological health registers and databases on a national scale could have made efficient planning of resources and structures difficult over time, consequently causing inefficiencies also from an economic point of view and potential health inequalities. These critical issues could be tackled on a double front: on the one hand, by increasingly training health professionals in epidemiology and its applications, and on the other by orienting the flow of decision-making towards an evidence-based approach and evidence of effectiveness , which can itself be a support for health planning and planning