Ricerc@Sapienza

SHE is an interdisciplinary research group that brings together scholars from multiple departments. It focuses on the economic, institutional, and social mechanisms that shape health outcomes, access to healthcare, and the health inequalities across individuals and population groups.

Our research combines applied microeconomic theory with empirical methods to analyse how health systems are organised, financed, and regulated, and how policies affect efficiency, quality of care, and equity. We rely on administrative and survey data and causal policy evaluation tools to generate robust evidence. We also study healthcare delivery and provider behaviour, including how capacity constraints and organisational choices shape access and performance, as well as the adoption of digital health and AI-enabled innovations. A key component of this work is the investigation of persistent socio-economic and territorial disparities in health, with particular attention to the role of social determinants, labour market conditions, and welfare institutions, including the health and social care workforce and skill mix.

The group’s research spans three main areas: (i) population dynamics and evolving healthcare needs (ageing, long-term care, mental health); (ii) access, utilisation and inequalities (migration, barriers to care, territorial and socio-economic disparities); and (iii) the evaluation of public health and social policies to improve health and reduce avoidable inequalities, including value-based reforms and quality measurement, system preparedness (e.g., antimicrobial resistance), and climate-related health risks and resilience.

Overall, we produce policy-relevant evidence to support better decision-making and improve the performance of health and social care systems.