Hygiene Science Development in Ukraine under Social-Political Changes (in the second part ХІХ – 1920s): Historiography

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to define the level of the scientific research on the hygiene studies development on the territory of Ukraine from the second part of XIX century till the 1920s under the conditions of the social-economical and political challenges of that time. Research methods: logical, chronological, comparative-historical, analytical-syntactical, classification, periodization, historical-genetical, and structural. Main results. This article deals with the scientific contribution into defining the challenges of hygiene studies development in Ukraine from the second part of XIX century till the 1920s. We have analyzed the main historiographic periods in the establishment and development of the hygiene science, all existing methodological approaches in historiography, and the theoretical paradigms in this field. Three historiographic periods concerning this topic were highlighted: the first period – from the second part of ХІХ till 1917; the second period – the soviet one, from 1917 till the end of 1980s; the third period – the modern one, beginning from 1991 till now. We analyzed Ukrainian historiography in terms of the establishment and development of the hygiene as a science, taking into consideration socio-economical and political changes in the country during the second part of the ХІХ till 1920s. Historiography, which reveals the hygiene science development at universities comprises of the significant amount of historical, statistical, encyclopedic, and methodological literature, which reflects the content, structure, organization, university research staff, which allows us to consider the development of hygiene science at the university level as essential in its transformation into a branch of science, a form of the social consciousness, and a part of culture of the society. Hygiene became a science which can make practical recommendations and respond to social needs. Experimental research in the hygiene were conducted at the university departments and at the state research laboratories. In the field of historiography, there were numerous scientific works on the development of hygiene as a science at the universities and in social medicine. Manuals, books, terminology dictionaries for doctors and students were issued during this period. Numerous terms were also defined, for example, “prophylaxis”, “hygiene”, “social hygiene”, “civil hygiene”, “social medicine”. It’s worth mentioning that these terms keep being updated. The significant contribution to the hygiene issues research was made by the outstanding scientists from the universities in Kyiv, Kharkiv, and Novorosiysk, where the respective hygiene departments were established and all the fundamental and applied research were conducted, improved, and expanded. Practical significance. This article is recommended for the courses of the history of Ukraine, science and technology, social medicine ,and for the course of the history of science and technology. Originality. In this article we analyzed and summed up the experience of the Ukrainian scientists, who had studied the history of the hygiene studies, in order to define the most effective model of hygiene component of the social medicine nowadays. The innovative component. We put forward the brand-new prospective of the hygiene studies development from the second part of the XIX century till the 1920s, taking into consideration the historical documents and research paradigms. Moreover, the research assessments under the social-political changes Ukraine from the second part of the XIX century till the 1920s were established. Article type: descriptive.