History of the Department
The Department of Social Hygiene and Health Care Organization was founded at Dnipropetrovsk Medical Institute in 1924-25 academic year. Famous scientist-hygienist Professor M.V. Donich (1878-1951) was the first Head of the Department.
Prominent epidemiologist, Academician of the USSR Academy of Medical Sciences L.V. Gromashevsky (1887-1980) was a Head of the Department in 1927-1928 and made a significant contribution to the development of the theory and practice of epidemiology. During the formation of the Department the studying of the social factors influencing the population health and the development of methods of its prevention were the main direction of Department activities.
In 1929-1931 Professor S.S. Kagan (1894-1965) was a Head of the Department. At the same time he was the Rector of the Institute. His scientific research of demography and sanitary legislation had a great importance for further development of science.
During a long time - from 1935 to 1956 Professor B. M. Shklyar (1891-1960) was а Head of the Department. He enriched science with the historical analysis of health care formation in Dnipropetrovsk region.
In 1940 departments of Social Hygiene was renamed as departments of Health Care Organization. It defined their new direction of work: carrying out researches on the theory and practice of the health care organization.
From 1957 to 1989 Galyna F. Yemelyanova (1921-2003) was a Head of the Department. Under the leadership of this talented scientist and lecturer a lot of researches concerning the public health and optimization of different types of medical care were carried out; educational process became closer to the health care practice.
For many years the scientific direction of the Department was the studying of health and medical care organization of industries workers. ScD thesis of G.F. Yemelyanova, Ya.G. Kovrov and scientific works of M.D. Helemendyk, A.Yu. Romanenko, P.V. Lomakin, S.A. Shmegevskyi were the most important scientific researches of that period. A lot of researches, such as scientific works of V.O. Pavlov, V.F. Posnyi, were devoted to studying of social and economic problems of fighting against traumatism. Scientific researches of L.F. Kirichenko, M.S. Tolubayev, I.G. Senchikhin, V.M. Guzhevskyi, L.S. Galenko, V.G. Pomoynyczkyi were devoted to the improvement of organizational forms of specialized medical care delivery to the workers of industrial enterprises.
In 1971 courses for improvement of professional skills of health care managers were created. In 1983 it was reformed in the Department of Social Hygiene and Health Care Organization of the Faculty of improvement of doctors` professional skills in Kryvyi Rih city.
In the early 1980-es a big research team worked at the Department. The main scientific direction of its activity was the optimization of primary health care organization and management. A number of scientific researches of M.I. Zayarskyi, V.G. Lahtionov, I.M. Kutuzov, E.V. Borvinko were devoted to the issues of service improvement at primary level. The ScD thesis of T.O. Bazhan was an important historical and medical research of that time. Besides several scientific researches on the improving of organization efficiency of different types of medical service as PhD thesis of L.B. Ogir, I.V. Kochyn, G.V. Gorbunova were carried out.
During the period from 1989 to 1995 Professor Ivan О. Logvinenko (1940-1995) was a Head of the Department. The main direction of his scientific work was the improvement of specialized medical care for rural population. In 1995-1996 Professor Olexandr Р. Tatarovskyi (1943 -2014) was a Head of the Department. The main direction of his scientific research was the studying of public health and the organization of the medical and sanitary care in intensive industrial zone. In that time the directions of scientific research of the Department were extended with the studying of new forms of organization of specialized medical care.
From September 1, 1992 the Department of Faculty of improvement of professional skills for doctors was moved from Kryvyi Rih to Dnipropetrovsk as part of Post-graduate Studies Faculty, was renamed in "Department of Health Care Management" and was headed by Professor V.M. Lekhan.
In the late 1990-es radical changes in society prompted the staff of Departments of graduate and postgraduate education to the scientific substantiation of reforms in health care. Large researches of V.M. Lekhan, O.P. Tatarovskyi, T.V. Eroshkina were devoted to those issues.
In 1996 in connection with structural changes in the Academy the Department of Social Medicine, Organization and Economy of Health Care was united with the Department of Health Care Management of Post-graduate Studies Faculty and then it was renamed in "Department of Social Medicine and Health Care Management". It was headed by Professor Valeriia М. Lekhan. Since that time active training of students and doctors - organizers of health care of Ukraine - has been conducting at the Department.
Since the end of the nineties the most important problems of health care organization (such as: scientific substantiation of health system restructuring, organization and management of primary and secondary medical care, quality management of medical care, the identifying of priority directions of health system development and the substantiation of ways of its efficiency improvement) entered into the sphere of scientific interests of the Department team. In this period materials of scientific researches of the Department were displayed in a number of scientific works including ScD thesis of O.L. Zyukov, PhD thesis of O.G. Golovakha, L.S. Semenova, A.V. Ipatov, V.A. Pishchykov, S.A. Kryukov, G.S. Kanyuka, D.D. Dyachuk, L.V. Kryachkova, V.V. Volchek.
From 2014-2015 a course "Management and Economy in Pharmacy" was attached to the Department. Now the Department has 22 employees, including 3 Doctors of Medical Sciences, 8 Associate Professors, 9 lecturers (from them - 2 Candidates of Sciences). Professional psychologists (Candidate of Sciences in Psychology G.S. Kanyuka) and lawyers (V.I. Tatarynov) are actively involved in the educational process at postgraduate level.
Every academic year the Department provides training in three languages (Ukrainian, Russian and English) for more than 2900 students (including more than 900 foreign citizens) of 6 specialties (general medicine, pediatrics, medical-preventive care, stomatology, clinical pharmacy, pharmacy) at all 7 faculties of the Academy. Educational disciplines on undergraduate level are: "History of Medicine”, "Social Medicine, Health Care Organization”, "Social Medicine, Health Care Organization and Economics", "General practice (family medicine) (organizational aspects)», etc. From September 1, 2016 all this disciplines are also taught in preparation for master's degree of specialties «General medicine” and “Stomatology”.
The training of medical staff at postgraduate level is conducted for head physicians – health care managers in specialty "Health care organization and management" and medical interns in specialty "General practice / family medicine".
Computerized audience for workshops equipped with 20 workplaces with thin clients is actively used in educational process. In it students and doctors being tested with an interactive system of group answers SMART Senteo. The staff of the Department uses the elements of problem-oriented training with complex of practical tasks (cases). Such forms of educational processes as work in small groups with brainstorming and psychological trainings are used at the postgraduate level. Training is provided with different elements of distant learning in educational software environment Moodle at educational portal of the Academy.
Since the foundation of the Department 38 monographs, 5 textbooks and 24 training manuals have been published; 11 ScD and 46 PhD thesis were completed successfully.
Continuing to develop the formed scientific tradition modern scientific work of the Department is directed to the substantiation of health care transformations, the increasing of health system efficiency, integration of heath care and quality improvement of medical services. The solutions of these issues presented in PhD thesis of N.O. Vengrin, M.V. Pavlenko and ScD thesis of V.G. Ginzburg, L.V. Kryachkova.
Now the Department actively cooperates in the scientific sphere with such international organizations as Regional Office for Europe of World Health Organization, the European Observatory of Health Systems and Policies, the World Bank, the United States American agency of the International Development (USAID); its scientists are acting as experts of Regional Office for Europe of World Health Organization, the World Bank and are a part of the working groups of the TACIS, POLICI, GVG/EPOS projects, etc.
Results of scientific research of the Department are widely used in the development of legislative acts, government and industry normative documents.
