La legislazione Italiana in materia di health impact asses- sment: il corrente quadro normativo nazionale e regionale. [The Italian legislation on Health Impact Assessment: the current national and regional regulatory framework].

The scientific literature on HIA is particularly rich in Anglo-Saxon countries (United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand), in Sweden and in the Netherlands, while in Italy there are not many scientific studies published on this theme. The study conducted showed that in Italy no laws relating to HIA have been enacted yet and that all laws enacted so far considered only EIA. Actually, legislation on environmental impact is in continuous expansion, even if at present, some regions have not yet passed a specified EIA-dealing law. In Italy the protection of health is promoted almost exclusively at a strictly medical level; decisions with strong social and environmental impact are not normally designed with particular regard to health issues. To increase in our country the interest for HIA, it would seem appropriate to discuss the usefulness of introducing health impact assessment in national and regional legislation. A possible law may indeed sensitize non-health decision makers to HIA, bringing Italy among the most innovative countries.