90077 - Public Health And Law

Learning outcomes

Law is an important tool for improving the public’s health. At the end of this course students will learn about the government’s authority to address public health issues. Right to health is protected/guaranteed by public authorities and legal institutions both at the national and EU level. We will start by focusing on Italy where national health service is statutorily required to guarantee the uniform provision of comprehensive care throughout the country. However, this is complicated by the fact that responsibility for healthcare is shared between the central and local governments. This leads to large and growing differences in regional health service organisation and provision. In the second part of the course we will discuss how EU policies influence the legislation of Member States and how they protect community health. Particular attention will be given to the role of European agencies (such as EMA and EFSA), as agencies that aim to protect the health of European citizens by monitoring health-related areas.

Course contents

Introduction: Italian constitution – principles – Right to health.

National health service.

National agencies.

European Union level: principles – Treaty on European Union and Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.

European Union agencies.

Relates topic: health – food; health – environment.

Last lectures will be dedicated to the student presentations.

Readings/Bibliography

REPORTS:

OECD/EU (2018), Health at a Glance: Europe 2018: State of Health in the EU Cycle, OECD Publishing, Paris. https://doi.org/10.1787/health_glance_eur-2018-en

State of health in the EU Companion report 2017

OECD/European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies (2017), Italy: Country Health Profile 2017, State of Health in the EU, OECD Publishing, Paris/European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies, Brussels. http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264283428-en

European Environment Agency, EEA Air Quality in Europe – 2018 Report; https://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/air-quality-in-europe-2018

ARTICLES:

Khedkar, S., Ciliberti, S., & Bröring, S. (2016). The EU health claims regulation: Implications for innovation in the EU food sector. British Food Journal, 118(11), 2647-2665. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/BFJ-01-2016-0021

Mark J. Nieuwenhuijsen; Urban and transport planning, environmental exposures and health-new concepts, methods and tools to improve health in cities; Environmental Health, 2016, 15 (Suppl 1) https://doi.org/10.1186/s12940-016-0108-1

Wysokinska, Z. (2016). The "new" environmental policy of the european union: A path to development of a circular economy and mitigation of the negative effects of climate change. Comparative Economic Research, 19(2), 57-73. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/cer-2016-0013

Teaching methods

The course will be taught using a wide variety of formats, including lectures, seminars, classroom discussions, and students presentations.

Assessment methods

Oral Exam

The final grade will be based upon:

40% written paper – presentation

40% final exam

20% class participation

Teaching tools

Power point presentations.

Office hours

See the website of Beatrice Bertarini