Typologization of russian regions as per environmental factors, factors related to educational process and schoolchildren’s health

Abstract

The structure of children population determined as per health groups is an integral characteristic of population health in this age group; it can be used as a criterion in creating medical and preventive programs aimed at managing demographic processes and assessing their efficiency. Health disorders among children occur due to many reasons including influence by socioeconomic and sanitary-epidemiological factors, peculiarities of the educational process, eating habits, lifestyle, etc. Our research aim was to determine types of regions in Russia as per environmental factors, the educational process and schoolchildren’s health. Determining different types of regions was considered to be an information basis for developing common strategies and mechanisms for improving schoolchildren’s health. Typologization of regions as per health groups revealed that the most favorable situation was in 31 regions; the last favorable, only in 2. The most favorable situation as per the educational process was in 55 regions where schools operated in one shift; the least favorable situation was observed in two RF regions where schools had to operate in two or even three shifts. Relative sanitary-epidemiological welfare was found in 20 regions and the situation in 21 regions was the least favorable as per several markers that characterized quality of drinking water, ambient air, and soils. Socioeconomic situations in the regions were analyzed to reveal that only 3 regions could be considered the most favorable and 28 regions were the least favorable; the latter were combined into one cluster with the lower values of the relevant markers including gross regional products per capita, living standard, provision with qualified medical personnel and in-patient hospital beds. A situation in each particular region is a reflection of regularities related to influence exerted by a set of aforementioned factors on children’s health; this proves the necessity to create a road map for each region in the RF with feasible mechanisms aimed at improving the existing situation as per specific aspects.