Protection of children’s health in the environment of Russian emigration and the USSR in the conditions of the spread of infectious diseases in the 1920s–1930s

Abstract

Introduction. The preservation of children’s health is an important state task, the success of which is largely determined by the socio-cultural context, traditions in the application of preventive measures and the provision of medical care. In this regard, it is indicative of the comparison of measures to preserve the health of schoolchildren in the “Russian schools” of the emigrant environment (on the example of schools in the Czechoslovakia and the Kingdom of Yugoslavia) and Soviet schools in the 1920s and 1930s in the conditions of the spread of infectious diseases. Materials and methods. The data sources were published reports of Russian educational institutions in exile, which contain information about the health of schoolchildren, data on the health of Soviet schoolchildren were obtained from collections of analytical works of the specified period. Results. The prevalence of infectious diseases in children among Russian emigration and in the USSR was comparable, with the exception of measles, cases of which were not recorded in emigrant educational institutions in the Czechoslovakia and the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. As the main preventive measures, disinfection and examinations were carried out, vaccinations were made. The living conditions of emigrants contributed to the spread of tuberculosis, the incidence of which among children of emigrants was higher than among the European population. Soviet and emigrant doctors agreed that the fight against infectious diseases should develop at the level of organized collectives (schools, kindergartens). Conclusion. Thus, emigrant doctors largely followed the medical traditions and experience that had developed in pre-revolutionary Russia. Nevertheless, the living conditions of emigrants and the lack of funds became factors that reduced the effectiveness of preventive measures and medical care. An important difference was that the events in the Soviet Union were carried out within the framework of the state policy on health protection, and in the emigrant environment were of a local nature, determined as a rule by the capabilities of specific educational institutions.