Our health depends on far more factors than we tend to think. Certainly, the following matter: everyday choices: what we eat, how much we exercise, and how we take care of ourselves. In fact, when it comes to risk factors, the focus is often primarily on individual habits such as smoking, a sedentary lifestyle, an unbalanced diet, or excessive alcohol consumption.
These are certainly important factors, but they are not the only ones. Each of our health is also influenced by from the environment in which they live, work, and interact with others: air quality, housing conditions, the availability of green spaces, exposure to potentially harmful substances, and even the layout of urban environments can all contribute to our health over the long term.
Furthermore, individual behaviors do not arise in a vacuum, but is strongly influenced by the physical, social, and economic context in which we live. A person who has access to green spaces, safe walking paths, or bike lanes, for example, will generally be more motivated to engage in physical activity than someone who lives in an environment that offers fewer opportunities.
For this reason, today there is less and less talk of individual choices as something completely autonomous, and more and more talk of factors influencing health, that is, all those factors that influence, facilitate, or hinder the adoption of certain behaviors. Modern prevention is not limited to promoting healthy lifestyles, but also aims to create environments that make such behaviors more accessible and sustainable over time.
What Are Risk Factors?
The risk factors are conditions, behaviors, or characteristics that increase the likelihood of developing a disease. Some factors are modifiable and depend, at least in part, on our daily choices. Others, however, cannot be changed, such as age or genetic predisposition. Risk factors are divided into several categories:
- biological, such as age, sex, and genetic predisposition;
- behavioral, such as smoking, a sedentary lifestyle, an unbalanced diet, or alcohol abuse;
- social and economic, including working conditions, educational attainment, and access to services;
- environmentalrelated to air quality, water quality, home and work environments, and, more generally, to the characteristics of the area in which one lives.
This classification reminds us that being healthy isn’t always just a choice we make, but rather the result of the interaction between numerous “ingredients” that act simultaneously.
The Environment as a Determinant of Health
In recent decades, there has been a growing awareness of the role the environment plays in people’s health. Talking about the environment does not just mean referring to pollution, but also considering the set of conditions that characterize an area: air and water quality, the presence of green spaces, workplace safety, noise levels, urban planning, and the availability of services.
For this reason, there is a tendency today to consider the territory, rather than the physical environment, as one of the main determinants of health. The concept of “territory” does indeed encompass environmental aspects, but it also includes the history, urban planning, organization of services, economic activities, infrastructure, social relationships, and cultural identity of a place.
The Territory as Part of a Community’s History
The recent history of Gela is a significant example of how economic development, urban transformation, quality of life, and health are closely linked.
Starting in the 1960s, the establishment of the petrochemical complex profoundly transformed the area, contributing to the city’s economic development and the construction of new infrastructure and residential areas. It was in this context that the Macchitella neighborhood, designed as a modern urban settlement intended to house workers, technicians, and managers employed in the new industrial activities.
Over time, Macchitella has become one of the city’s most iconic neighborhoods, preserving a strong identity and a deep connection to the area’s history. Its evolution—indeed, its very origins—illustrate how the environment in which we live is not merely a backdrop for human activities, but a component that helps shape the quality of life and the well-being of communities. Even the History of Santabarbara Hospital It is closely linked to that of Macchitella. The organization was founded in 1966 within the neighborhood and has grown alongside the local community, accompanying its social and territorial transformations.
As has been the case in many other areas characterized by a strong industrial presence, economic development has been accompanied over time by a growing public debate on issues such as environmental protection, air quality, sustainability, and their potential impact on people’s well-being. These are issues that have helped raise awareness of the importance of environmental factors as elements to be monitored and taken into account in prevention and health promotion strategies.
The Role of Businesses and Economic Activities
In this context, it is clear that when we talk about health, we must also considering the impact our activities have on the environment. Sustainability has become a challenge that affects all sectors of society, including the healthcare sector.
Clinics and hospitals are not just places of care, but complex facilities that have an impact on the environment and, at the same time, organizations that can make a tangible contribution to building more responsible and sustainable development models.
To ensure safe and effective care services a hospital must operate without interruption, consuming large amounts of energy for lighting, air conditioning, and the operation of medical equipment. Added to this are water consumption, waste generation—often involving hazardous or medical waste—the use of single-use materials necessary to ensure high safety standards, and indirect emissions associated with the transportation of patients, staff, and suppliers.
For this very reason, in recent years there has been a growing focus on the issue of sustainability in healthcare: reducing consumption, improving energy efficiency, and using resources more responsibly.
Operating in a region that has undergone profound economic, industrial, and urban transformations, Santabarbara Hospital has, over the years, developed a particular awareness of the relationship between health, the environment, and quality of life, recognizing that people’s well-being depends on a range of factors that go far beyond the clinical aspect alone. A few years ago, we launched an initiative to progressive energy independence which already allows us to meet about 32% of our energy needs, reducing our reliance on fossil fuels. The goal is to reach 60% by 2026 and achieve energy self-sufficiency by 2028, ultimately reducing the facility’s CO₂ emissions to zero.
This commitment goes beyond day-to-day clinical practice and reflects a vision of healthcare that is increasingly forward-looking: a healthcare system capable not only of providing treatment, but also of promoting well-being and fostering a sense of responsibility toward the community and the environment.
