Medical humanities and welfare policies

In strict coherence with the concept of health, which the WHO has progressively revised in 1948, 1978 and 1986 by linking it to physical, mental and social well-being, the PNRR has recognized that "the Covid-19 pandemic has confirmed the universal value of health, its nature as a fundamental public good and the macroeconomic relevance of public health services" (PNRR, Mission 6). The PNRR promotes the transition from a model that mainly studies the causes of diseases (pathogenic) to one that values personal and environmental aspects capable of promoting health (salutogenic). The state of health thus becomes a process of continuous oscillation between well-being and malaise. The search for a constant balance between these two poles represents a path of continuous learning that encourages the person to consider their behaviors and their life history as a complex whole. Furthermore, the processes of globalization, migration, international conflicts have determined the birth of intercultural societies, melting pots and new urban realities in recent decades. Health now requires increasingly specific curricular skills and the recognition of human rights suggests an increasingly active dialogue between healthcare professionals and policy makers. This perspective involves all the human and social sciences, as attention shifts from a state of fact (presence of disease) to a hopefully achievable one (that of well-being). This change implies the promotion of resources capable of producing widespread well-being, involving not only individuals and communities, but also urban, cultural and trans-cultural areas.
In this context, the CdDR emerges as an interdisciplinary proposal that aims to bridge the gap between human and social sciences and medical professions, in order to create a new framework for the promotion of well-being that includes social inclusion and community empowerment. It intends to develop innovative research and train professionals capable of producing analyses and developing tools and policies for well-being. In this scenario, medical humanities (MH) represent the expression of a collective responsibility, which calls into question the political systems of welfare and the cost/benefit/community well-being ratio; they reflect not only on the purposes of science, on training and on professional practice in the health sector, but also on the role and tasks of those who design the system and the tools for health protection.
The CdDR focuses on the analysis of welfare systems as enabling tools for well-being (Anand, Hunter, Smith, 2005), with the aim of overcoming the traditional nomenclature of welfare and developing approaches based on the epistemological and methodological value of Innovation Studies. It adopts an interdisciplinary approach and proposes the development of skills for the elaboration, promotion and introduction of tools focused on sharing, participation and empowerment, both at local level and in multicultural contexts. In this perspective, the CdDR intends to organize the contents to define processes and methods for the identification, introduction and maintenance of widespread well-being with a social counterpart, or aimed at achieving sustainable economic and social development, also from an environmental point of view, which respects and enhances cultural affiliations, identities and characterizations. Finally, the CdDR intends to focus on the development of skills capable of managing the complexity of phenomena linked to an evolution of the center-periphery relationships that is verifying the hypothesis of a reduction in direct transfers to marginal areas. These skills contemplate a close correlation with the needs of the territories interpreted through the interactions between companies, workers, PA and the world of research. In particular, the CdDR aims to establish a link between the themes of social citizenship and the issues related to the management of public space, assigning welfare a peculiar dimension that allows actions, processes and tools to provide governance indications based on innovative systems of collective intelligence and introducing a vision of human training that combines the community aspect with the individual one. This perspective is capable of understanding and interpreting the questions and needs of the territories to define a real ecosystem of health, well-being + environment.  

The CdDR intends to respond to the challenges posed by the territories that suffer most from the territorial gap and inequalities. This approach is based on both general and specific objectives. The general objectives arise from the need to provide adequate responses to territorial systems as a whole, pursuing wide-ranging impacts on the territory in line with European policies and the United Nations 2030 Agenda.

General objectives include:

• Promote social inclusion and equity in access to medical care by encouraging knowledge and application of Medical Humanities (MH) in healthcare practices and training programs for health professionals.
• Develop innovative solutions to reduce territorial inequalities and improve social and economic cohesion, contributing to the creation of territorial and learning networks.
• Promote the understanding of social, identity and economic dynamics that influence people's health and well-being, to provide effective and sustainable solutions to improve the welfare of individuals and communities, also supporting the active ageing of the population.
• Promote digital innovation in the field of MH by developing new technological tools to improve communication and accessibility in the healthcare sector.
• Support research and innovation to develop new solutions and models in the welfare field, improving the effectiveness, efficiency and sustainability of health services.
• Develop innovative, sustainable and money-saving solutions for welfare, promoting greater connection between the healthcare system and the network of social enterprises.
• Promote the inclusion in the curriculum of knowledge in the field of narrative, cultural and trans-cultural medicine.
• Promote the meeting between support figures and figures of sociological/anthropological research and interest to identify treatment paths closer to the needs of the patient and the needs of those who express specific health requests.
• Promote the dissemination of scientific knowledge and best practices in the field of MH at national and international level.
• Ensure a fruitful connection between the world of research and the production and service system, both public and private.

The specific objectives, instead, concern the specific measures and declinations of the CdDR proposal in the context of the general objectives. These include:

• To train professionals capable of using interdisciplinary approaches (Innovation Studies) to address health, social and economic issues and develop innovative solutions at the intersection of the disciplines of Medicine, Economics, Sociology and Pedagogy and in general of the Human and Social Sciences.
• Promote the creation of highly specialized professional figures capable of developing innovative models of MH and generative territorial welfare, capable of capitalizing on the results of research funded by the PNRR for the benefit of local communities.
• Ensure a solid theoretical-practical training in the most advanced theories, methodologies and technologies in the field of MH.
• Develop leadership skills to lead projects and research teams in the field of MH and welfare.
• Reduce the gap between the skills acquired through third-level university education and those required by businesses and public administrations.
• Promote the creation of a health and well-being ecosystem that favors the permanence and valorization of qualified skills in the southern territory, supporting local economic growth and promoting social inclusion with the implementation of targeted policies and initiatives and collaboration between institutions, businesses and local communities.  

Expected teachings

• Visual and digital storytelling
• Welfare Economics and Welfare Systems
• Management and value creation in healthcare
• Qualitative and Quantitative Research Methodology
• Ecosystems, man and environment
• Community welfare and health
• AI in clinical and managerial decision-making processes
• Communities of practices and generative welfare interventions
• The doctor-patient-caregiver community relationship
• Human and health rights for social minorities
• Cultural and Trans-cultural Medicine
• Urban Medicine of Migrations

Other educational activities

• Seminars
• Laboratory activities
• Linguistic improvement
• Computer improvement
• Valorisation and dissemination of results, intellectual property and open access to research data and products
• Management of research and knowledge of European and international research systems
• Core principles of ethics, gender equality and integrity

All Master's Degrees

Other requirements for foreign students: Knowledge of the Italian language, functional to didactic interaction and research activity

PhDs will be able to develop innovative projects, coordinate data collection and integrate interdisciplinary approaches in the human, social and health sciences. These skills include evaluating research results, identifying and proposing technological innovations for scientific, educational and communication purposes, and the ability to dialogue with different professional figures in the health sector. The training will allow them to further specialize in different specific areas, integrating knowledge from various fields, including social sciences, statistics, law, humanities and arts. Training in MH will help develop a greater awareness of the importance of the interdisciplinary approach in clinical practice, fostering a dialogue between the different disciplines involved in health care and promotion.
The CdDR will develop professional figures oriented to develop multidisciplinary skills for applied research activities in PAs, mainly local and in the world of third sector (TS) businesses.

The course will be aimed at the integrated development of professional profiles in the following areas:

• Reconstruction and interpretation of the legal frameworks of reference for TS companies and local PAs in relation to welfare policies and territorial socio-health aspects
• Participation in the organization and strategic direction of welfare policies and territorial socio-health policies of local PAs
• Development of autonomous research paths for the valorization of the management skills of local PAs and TS companies also with reference to the selection/management/development of HR
• Development of paths for the valorization of new organizational skills useful in TS and local PA companies
• Development of administrative capacity for the design and planning of public policies for welfare and territorial socio-health interventions: responsibility for the policy cycle, identification of solutions, implementation of policies and their evaluation;
• Development of innovative governance and multi-level institutional design tools (local, regional, national and European) that include new digital tools and environmental and social sustainability needs.
• Development of design and instructional design capabilities at multiple levels, from designing hospital staff training to organizing events and awareness and prevention campaigns, through the design of digital and telemedicine interfaces.
• Development of communication skills to manage relationships between the different figures of public and private health, citizens and the territory, including data collection, analysis and dissemination and development of actions to combat social/cultural/economic inequalities.

The CdDR, in accordance with the provisions of the PNRR and requested by institutional stakeholders, is oriented towards the following professional opportunities:

1. Development/management of welfare policies and economic and social inequalities:
   researchers at Research Centers, public and private institutions
   analysts with a cognitive support function for policy makers and governance
   consultants, planners and managers of territorial social-health and welfare policies, training and development of Human Capital
   expert consultants in the evaluation of social and health policies, welfare and policies for the reduction and management of socio-economic inequalities.
2. Industrial Relations and concertation bodies in the TS and HR management:
   researchers at public/private institutions
   coordinators/managers at TS companies
   personnel management managers at public and private companies
   -TS managers within the intermediate bodies
3. Welfare State and Social Policies:
   researchers in the field of Welfare and Social Security
   social policy and welfare system designers
   managers/consultants of Social Security and Policies.
4. Training of technical, professional, digital, relational and managerial skills of medical and healthcare personnel:
   training managers in hospital companies, community homes, public/private companies
   designers of software and immersive learning environments for training healthcare personnel
   SSN-citizenship interface managers/consultants
   researchers in health pedagogy and collective well-being
5. Relationship with the territory and health communication:
   communications managers in the TS of the social economy and assistance to people, including scientific ones (IRCCS)
   designers of information/prevention campaigns specifically linked to the PNRR objectives

1. Health and education
   It connects the human and social sciences with those of health by adopting a generative approach capable of connecting biomedical, socio-economic and cultural aspects. Based on a common hermeneutic perspective between sociology, economics and pedagogy (Innovation Studies), this curriculum focuses on the relationship between health and well-being, and specifically it is interested in the different declinations of welfare and well-being also in a comparative perspective.
   The main objective is to train researchers capable of "humanizing" health care, that is, of developing a detailed understanding of the health needs of the population in light of changes within the NHS.
   The training that PhDs will acquire has a multidisciplinary scope, focused on the combination/integration of themes and issues such as ethical and social issues in the field of medicine and health sciences, relationships between doctors and patients, the role of technology, the distribution of health resources, the impact of health policies on society, issues related to inclusion, access to care and diversity.
   The training course includes training activities and practical experiences aimed at acquiring technical-professional skills as well as managerial abilities.  
2. Welfare and lifestyle  
   In reference to the development of generative approaches based on the epistemological and methodological value of Innovation Studies, this curriculum focuses on the analysis of welfare systems intended as enabling tools for well-being. By adopting interdisciplinary methods, this curriculum proposes the development of skills for the elaboration, promotion and implementation of public engagement and community empowerment programs and activities. To this end, it focuses on the creation and management of networks and communities of practices with the intention of experimenting with well-being models “with social consideration”, that is, aimed at achieving objectives of economic and social sustainability, in full respect of memberships, identities and cultural characterizations.
   The training that the PhDs will acquire has a multidisciplinary scope, in the sense that it concerns both the promotion of specific dimensions of welfare and the development of new models centered on the values of participation, social rights and collective, material and immaterial common goods. With particular reference to innovative systems of collective intelligence, the training offer is oriented towards the development of actions, processes and governance tools. Consequently, the training path includes training activities and practical experiences aimed at acquiring technical-professional skills as well as managerial skills.