Ricerc@Sapienza

The overcrowding of first aid facilities creates considerable hardship and problems which
have repercussions on patients’ wellbeing, the time needed for a diagnosis, and on the quality of
the assistance. The basic objective of this contribution, based on the data collected by the Hospital
Policlinico Umberto I in Rome (Lazio region, Italy), is to carry out a territorial screening of
the municipality using GIS applications and spatial analyses aimed at reducing—in terms of

This paper was born as a joint discussion about the possible use of GIS for tackling health emergencies in
cases of infectious diseases and pandemic. After providing some considerations regarding the COVID-19
sanitary and epidemiological aspects and implications, we underline and discuss some GIS applications
produced to support the emergency phases and representing and sharing data in some continuously updated
dashboards and becoming reference elaborations. In particular, the need for the development of rigorous