Polio in Italy

The history of polio in Italy is relatively short because the particular social and demographic history of the country has actually compressed the most dramatic history of the polio epidemic into only 40 years, from the first severe epidemic just before World War II to the early 1980s, when the epid...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autor: Fantini, Bernardino
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2012
País:España
Institución:Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
Repositorio:Dipòsit Digital de Documents de la UAB
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:ddd.uab.cat:104041
Acceso en línea:https://ddd.uab.cat/record/104041
https://dx.doi.org/urn:doi:10.4321/S0211-95362012000200004
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Itàlia
Campanyes de vacuncacions
Drets humans
Associations de pacients
Economia sanitària
Poliomyelitis
Italy
Vaccination campaigns
Human rights
Patient's associations
Economy of health
Poliomielitis
Italia
Campañas de vacunación
Derechos humanos
Asociaciones de pacientes
Economía de la salud
Descripción
Sumario:The history of polio in Italy is relatively short because the particular social and demographic history of the country has actually compressed the most dramatic history of the polio epidemic into only 40 years, from the first severe epidemic just before World War II to the early 1980s, when the epidemic vanished thanks to an effective and country-wide vaccination campaign. The epidemic, however, had a formidable impact on medicine, public health, social attitudes and culture. An analysis of this case study can illustrate the impact of an epidemic of a severe disease on individual and collective life, and at the same time the efficacy of public health measures against it, and the importance of the social structure, state and private, in coping with the consequences of the epidemics. In this period, the attitude towards the handicapped changed from stigma and isolation to social integration, thanks especially to the changes in health legislation, social action and the initiatives of the patient' associations.