Basaglia Law

Law 180 is also known by the name of its main proponent, Franco Basaglia.

Basaglia Law or Law 180 (Italian: Legge Basaglia, Legge 180) is the Italian Mental Health Act of 1978 which signified a large reform of the psychiatric system in Italy, contained directives for the closing down of all psychiatric hospitals[1] and led to their gradual replacement with a whole range of community-based services, including settings for acute in-patient care.[2] The Basaglia Law is the basis of Italian mental health legislation.[3]: 64  The principal proponent of Law 180[4]: 70  and its architect was Italian psychiatrist Franco Basaglia.[5]: 8  Therefore, Law 180 is known as the “Basaglia Law” from the name of its promoter.[6] The Parliament of Italy approved the Law 180 on 13 May 1978, and thereby initiated the gradual dismantling of psychiatric hospitals.[7] Implementation of the psychiatric reform law was accomplished in 1998 which marked the very end of the state psychiatric hospital system in Italy.[8] The Law has had worldwide impact as other counties took up widely the Italian model.[9]: 125  It was Democratic Psychiatry which was essential in the birth of the reform law of 1978.[10]: 95 

The law itself lasted until 23 December 1978. Then, its articles were incorporated, with very little changes, into a broader law (Italian: legge 23 dicembre 1978, n. 833 - Istituzione del Servizio sanitario nazionale) that introduced the National Health System.[11]

  1. ^ Ramon S. (1983). "Psichiatria democratica: a case study of an Italian community mental health service". International Journal of Health Services. 13 (2): 307–324. doi:10.2190/76CQ-B5VN-T3FD-CMU7. PMID 6853005. S2CID 20370455.
  2. ^ De Girolamo G.; Barbato A.; Bracco R.; Gaddini A.; Miglio R.; Morosini P.; Norcio B.; Picardi A.; Rossi E.; Rucci P.; Santone G.; Dell'Acqua G. (August 2007). "Characteristics and activities of acute psychiatric in-patient facilities: national survey in Italy". British Journal of Psychiatry. 191 (2): 170–177. doi:10.1192/bjp.bp.105.020636. PMID 17666503. S2CID 4695148.
  3. ^ Piccione, Renato (2004). Il futuro dei servizi di salute mentale in Italia. FrancoAngeli. pp. 64, 95. ISBN 978-88-464-5358-7.
  4. ^ Sapouna, Lydia; Herrmann, Peter (2006). Knowledge in Mental Health: Reclaiming the Social. Hauppauge: Nova Publishers. pp. 69–73. ISBN 978-1-59454-812-3.
  5. ^ Benaim S. (January 1983). "The Italian Experiment". Psychiatric Bulletin. 7 (1): 7–10. doi:10.1192/pb.7.1.7.
  6. ^ Vincenzo Bongiorno (2013). "Proposals for Mental Health in Italy at the End of the Nineteenth Century: between Utopia and Anticipating the "Basaglia Law"". Clinical Practice and Epidemiology in Mental Health. 9: 210–213. doi:10.2174/1745017920131029001. PMC 3866620. PMID 24358051.
  7. ^ De Girolamo; et al. (August 2008). "Franco Basaglia, 1924–1980". American Journal of Psychiatry. 165 (8): 968. doi:10.1176/appi.ajp.2008.07111761. PMID 18676602.
  8. ^ Burti L. (2001). "Italian psychiatric reform 20 plus years after". Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica. Supplementum. 104 (410): 41–46. doi:10.1034/j.1600-0447.2001.1040s2041.x. PMID 11863050. S2CID 40910917.
  9. ^ Saillant, Francine; Genest, Serge (2007). Medical Anthropology: Regional Perspectives and Shared Concerns. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell. pp. 125–127. ISBN 978-1-4051-5249-5.
  10. ^ Fioritti A.; Lo Russo L.; Melega V. (January 1997). "Reform said or done? The case of Emilia-Romagna within the Italian psychiatric context". American Journal of Psychiatry. 154 (1): 94–98. doi:10.1176/ajp.154.1.94. PMID 8988965. Archived from the original on 2011-08-07. Retrieved 2010-10-02.
  11. ^ "LEGGE 23 dicembre 1978, n. 833 - Normattiva".