Combating the epidemic of misinformation must be a categorical imperative for journalism. We live in the era of infodemic, exposed daily to a multitude of information. And distinguishing truth from falsehood is becoming increasingly difficult.
When misinformation touches on science or healthcare topics, the damage is even greater. The fear generated by the Covid-19 pandemic has given way to the spread of false, misleading, and harmful information even in the health sector. And this is certainly not new. On the contrary, it is a human tendency to seek simple answers to complex problems. An approach we could define as defensive but also childish and – what is more serious – potentially dangerous.
Complexity is the substance of our daily lives. When the answers we seek seem not to come or are not understandable, the challenge becomes another: to train doubt, ask questions, verify. In short, to apply the scientific method.
It is from these convictions that Start Health & Research is born, our new periodical entirely dedicated to the world of scientific and academic research, healthcare, and the pharmaceutical sector.
The cover story of the first issue is “Health Ecosystem”
Health protection represents one of the crucial challenges for the country, capable of intersecting social, economic, geopolitical, and cultural variables. For this reason, the title chosen for the debut of this new editorial venture is “Health Ecosystem. Scientific Research and New Frontiers of Care”. Through a frank discussion with experts, academics, scientists, representatives of institutions and the industrial world, the first issue addresses the profound transformations affecting Italian and European healthcare. On the table are topics of paramount importance: from the sustainability and maintenance of the universalism of the National Health Service (SSN) to demographic and epidemiological changes, from the impact of environmental transition to the international positioning of the pharmaceutical supply chain, up to the revolution of artificial intelligence, a true agent of a turning point that we are all called to understand and govern.
The dialogue with experts
The magazine opens with an extensive interview with the Minister of Health, Orazio Schillaci, focused on the government project for an equitable and accessible healthcare model. Following this, the link between healthcare and geopolitics is addressed in an in-depth article by Edmondo Cirielli, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, who analyzes the role of Italian healthcare in foreign policy and, specifically, within the Mattei Plan for Africa. Francesco Vaia, a public health physician and deputy member of the National Authority for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, explains to us that health research is the tool to transform knowledge into health, territorial development, and social cohesion.
The first issue of Start Health & Research features contributions (in alphabetical order) from: Giulia Alfieri, Luca Antonini, Massimo Bordignon, Marion Breton, Dario Bressanini, Raffaella Buzzetti, Beatrice Calò, Maria Rosaria Campitiello, Marcello Cattani, Edmondo Cirielli, Nicola Colacurci, Annamaria Colao, Nunzia Cummaro, Marco Dell’Aguzzo, Antonio Esposito, Luca La Gamma, Nicola Leone, Edoardo Lisi, Nicoletta Luppi, Cinzia Marchese, Antonino Neri, Marco Orioles, Arianna Pacchiarotti, Pasquale Perrone Filardi, Chiara Saraceno, Orazio Schillaci, Maria Scopece, Lorenzo Sommella, Alessandro Sperandio, Carlo Terzano, Bianca Maria Togni, Francesco Vaia, Ilaria Villa, Riccardo Zagaria, and Stefano Zamagni.
Start Health & Research is a new point of reference for curious and attentive perspectives, for those who believe that investing in health and research is the most profitable investment in Italy’s future.
