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Primary prevention as an essential factor ensuring sustainability of health systems: the example of congenital
Domenica Taruscio1, Eva Bermejo-Sánchez2, Paolo Salerno1
1Centro Nazionale Malattie Rare, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy.
Insights
Protecting early development is crucial for future generations. A One Health approach, integrating surveillance and prevention strategies, is essential for public health and sustainable development.
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Reproductive Health
- Environmental Health
Background:
- Congenital anomalies and adverse reproductive outcomes pose significant public health challenges.
- Early development is sensitive to various risk factors including nutrition, lifestyle, pollution, infections, and medications.
- These outcomes serve as early indicators of broader public health risks.
Purpose of the Study:
- To emphasize the importance of protecting early development for intergenerational health.
- To advocate for an integrated "One Health" approach for effective primary prevention of adverse reproductive outcomes.
- To highlight the need for policy and resource allocation to support prevention strategies.
Main Methods:
- Implementing comprehensive surveillance of health events and risk factors.
- Conducting science-based risk analysis.
- Promoting citizen empowerment and health professional education.
- Establishing joint intersectoral budgeting mechanisms.
- Strengthening registries and systematic data collection for congenital anomaly surveillance.
Main Results:
- An integrated "One Health" approach is necessary for effective primary prevention.
- Intersectoral collaboration across health, social affairs, education, agriculture, and environment is vital.
- Investment in evidence-based primary prevention supports resilient health systems and societal development.
Conclusions:
- Protecting early development is fundamental for the health of future generations.
- A "One Health" strategy, supported by robust data and intersectoral action, is key to preventing congenital anomalies and improving public health.
- Sustained investment in primary prevention is essential for sustainable development.
Abstract:
Protection of early development contributes to health of next generations. Congenital anomalies (and other adverse reproductive outcomes) are an important public health issue and early indicator of public health risks, as early development is influenced by many risk factors (e.g., nutrition, lifestyles, pollution, infections, medications, etc). Effective primary prevention requires an integrated "One Health" approach, linking knowledge and action. This requires surveillance of health events and potential health-damaging factors, science-based risk analysis, citizens' empowerment and education of health professionals. From the policy standpoint, joint budgeting mechanisms are needed to sustain with equity intersectoral actions (involving policy domains of health, social affairs, education, agriculture and environment). States should devote resources to strengthen registries and systematic data collection for surveillance of congenital anomalies, to better inform national prevention strategies. Investing in primary prevention based on scientific evidence is essential to support sustainable and resilient health systems and sustainable development of the society.
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