The Department of Health Foundations was founded on March 5, 2013, due to the reorganization of the Faculty of Physical Training and Sports within Uzhhorod National University into the Human Health Faculty. As a structural subdivision of the Human Health Faculty, this department provides the teaching of medical and biological disciplines in accordance with the state standards of training bachelors at the direction 6.010203 “Human Health”, specialists and masters at the speciality “Physical Rehabilitation”. Since education plays an important role in solving the problem of human health protection and development, just the preparation of the future specialist at the direction “Human Health” for such a kind of activity is the main task of the department. Together with the Physical Rehabilitation Department and the Department of Physical Training Theory and Methodology, this department takes part in the methodical, scientific and educative work at the faculty.

There are five staff tutors at the department: three candidates of sciences, associate professors, and two tutors. Kseniya Meleha, Candidate of Medicine, Associate Professor, was elected as the head of the department in 2013 according to the competition.

The establishment of the Department of Health Foundations, the youngest department within the Human Health Faculty, is connected with the modern demands – with the modernization of professional training and providing of the health protection competence of future Human Health Bachelors, specialists on physical rehabilitation. The department’s important tasks since the first days of its existence are to solve the problems of protecting and strengthening the health of the population different categories, methods of its testing and estimation, to elaborate the conception of healthy life and health protection technologies, to introduce them into practice actively.

The experienced tutors made modern educative and methodical materials in accordance with the requirements of the credit-module system and Bologna process: educative & methodical complexes, syllabic & methodical media, the library of electronic works, multimedia elaborations to the lecture courses; there is published a series of educative literature and method-guides on various normative disciplines. According to the agreements, the students can have their practice on the health foundations on the base of Uzhhorod and Transcarpathian schools, increase their professional level under the department tutors’ supervision.

Department Development Prospects

The department takes part in the scientific investigations on the following topic: “Newest Technologies in Physical Rehabilitation, the Estimation of Life Quality of Different Population Groups in Case of Diseases of Internal Organs and Systems in the Organism and of the Locomotorium”, the state registration number 0111U001870.

The department works at the renewing of the scientific laboratory’s material basis, equipping with the newest apparatuses for determining the health state, functional status and physical capacity of different age-old persons. A significant attention is paid to the problem of spreading harmful habits among schoolchildren and students, elaborating methods of prophylaxis of tobacco smoking and alcohol abusing, and forming the foundations of youth’s healthy life. Studying of human physiological, psychological, age-old and sexual peculiarities, health risk factors, spreading of modern “civilization diseases” and early discovering of pre-pathological states of the organism make it possible to elaborate recommendations and complex health programs for different population groups. The department is the initiator of the organization of the “Health School” on the base of Uzhhorod National University rehabilitation centre.

Nowadays it is important to educate the young generation, youth and adult people concerning the responsible attitude to health as the most valuable constituent and the biological foundation of human life, as an important labour resource, the basis of creative self-realization of every personality. Therefore, if the physicians’ attention was before concentrated on the renewing of a sick person’s health, then nowadays it is directed to the saving and strengthening of a healthy person’s health. That is why the pedagogical aspect, whose essence consists in the formation of a person’s motivation concerning health life, is very important. On the other hand, it is necessary to elaborate the newest prophylactic measures and health protection technologies with the attraction of broad layers of population to their realization. It will become the significant task of the department staff for the nearest future. Department of Health Foundations tries to extend the international cooperation in the sphere of human health with leading medical institutions of Ukraine and the world.

The department tutors constantly take part in scientific conferences, seminars, international symposiums and congresses of different levels in Ukraine and abroad. The results of scientific investigations are published in professional editions.