Rethinking primary care within a One Health strategy: reflections and proposals

Journal title SALUTE E SOCIETÀ
Author/s Giacomo Balduzzi, Enrico Peterle, Marialuisa Stanco
Publishing Year 2026 Issue 2026/2
Language English Pages 10 P. 91-100 File size 341 KB
DOI 10.3280/SES2026-002009
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Law No. 833/1978 created the Servizio Sanitario Nazionale (SSN) and placed general practitioners (GPs) at the center of local primary care as self-employed professionals operating under an agreement with the public health system. Decades of policy-led efforts have struggled to fully integrate GPs into the local healthcare services network established by the 1978 reform. This article offers reflections and proposals aimed at reimagining primary care and the role of general medicine in Italy through a One Health perspective, framed as a field of actors and practices triggered by the shifts of a risk society. Within this framework, two key strategic pillars emerge: the first concerns choices between “good” and “bad” prevention, while the second emphasizes the role of place-based policies in driving and enabling change.

Keywords: One Health; risk society; primary care; general practitioners; “good” versus “bad” prevention; place-based policies.

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Giacomo Balduzzi, Enrico Peterle, Marialuisa Stanco, Rethinking primary care within a One Health strategy: reflections and proposals in "SALUTE E SOCIETÀ" 2/2026, pp 91-100, DOI: 10.3280/SES2026-002009