Mapping the Roots of Healthcare Inequalities in Post-Unification Italy. Geographical Accessibility and Territorial Disparities
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21244537 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Giulia Corti (0000-0002-2287-2307, Universitat Autonòma de Barcelona), Emanuele Fedeli (0000-0001-9822-5504, University of Milan) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 16 |
| Pages | 190-205 |
| Publication date | 2026-06-23 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Historical Life Course Studies (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2352-6343 • E-ISSN: 2352-6343 |
| Publisher | International Institute of Social History (PUBLISHER • NL) |
| DOI | 10.52024/hlcs23804 |
| OpenAlex | W7165619605 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 18 |
The distribution of healthcare infrastructure has historically influenced health inequalities. Consequently, geographic accessibility — the alignment between facility locations and population distribution — is crucial to mitigating these disparities. In Italy, territorial inequalities have persisted since unification (1861), and have been exacerbated by delayed public health investments. While regional disparities in healthcare infrastructure have often been linked to mortality differences, accessibility remains a neglected issue of study due to data limitations. This study aims to address this gap by using data from the Inchiesta delle Condizioni Igienico Sanitarie del Regno d'Italia (1884–1885) to study healthcare access. The study uses a two-dimensional framework, encompassing availability, defined as the number of facilities, and spatial accessibility, which is measured by travel distance and geographic barriers. Adopting an ego-network approach incorporating altitude and distance provides an updated and more sophisticated study of inequalities in access to primary and institutionalized healthcare services, identifying potential origins of persistent inequalities
Distribution (mathematics) · Geographic information system · Health care · Health equity · Healthcare system · Inequality · Population · Public health · Unification · Healthcare Operations and Scheduling Optimization · Urban Design and Spatial Analysis · Urban Transport and Accessibility
The Economic History of Italy 1860—1990
Spatial accessibility of primary care
What does 'access to health care' mean?
Why Nations Fail
How Accessibility Shapes Land Use
The North-South Differential In Italian Economic Development
Nutrition and growth in Italy, 1861–1911
The Origins of the Italian Regional Divide
History Lessons
Public health reforms and the mortality decline in nineteenth-century Italy
Displacement of Death from Home to Hospital in Historical Perspective
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |