University training of medical personnel in educational hygiene and hygiene of children, adolescents, and youth

Hygiene as a field of knowledge and practice has been known to humanity for more than 2 600 years, with written evidence found in the LXVIII Orphic Hymn. The development of hygiene as a science is closely linked to scientific and technological progress, while the hygiene of children and adolescents is tied to the development of mass education and upbringing in institutions for children and adolescents, as well as the continuous improvement and modernization of educational systems.

Expert analytical and historical research into the formation and development of training programs in child and adolescent hygiene. F.F. Erisman is recognised as the founder of university‑level training in hygiene and school hygiene at the Imperial Moscow University. The systematic development and improvement of training of medical personnel in educational hygiene and the hygiene of children and adolescents began in 1926 with the establishment of the Department of Educational Hygiene, which was renamed the Department of Child and Adolescent Hygiene in 1954. The optimal model for training students in disciplines in hygiene is the ‘Research Institute – Department’ integrated approach, which facilitates the integration of practice‑oriented education, student and faculty research activities, and educational and volunteer work.

Conclusion. The origins of university‑level training of medical personnel in child and adolescent hygiene can be traced back to the Imperial Moscow University, where it was laid by the prominent Russian hygienist F.F. Erisman, along with his students and followers. The evolution of hygiene education and child and adolescent hygiene is associated with the improvements in healthcare and education systems, as well as with the challenges facing medical personnel training. Modernization of hygiene department activities across the country will contribute to the training of highly qualified specialists with the competencies needed to address contemporary challenges.

Compliance with ethical standards. This study does not require the conclusion of a biomedical ethics committee or other documents.

Contribution:
Kuchma V.R. – the concept and design of the study, collection and processing of material, analysis of research data, writing text, editing;
Butenkova V.S., Platonov O.V. – collection and processing of material, writing text;
Virabova A.R., Naryshkina E.V., Chubarovsky V.V., Yamshchikova N.L. – collection and processing of material, analysis of research data, writing text;
Demina N.N. – collection and processing of material;
Laponova E.D., Makarova A.Yu. – collection and processing of material, analysis of research data, writing text, editing.
All authors are responsible for the integrity of all parts of the manuscript and approval of the manuscript final version.

Statement on the use of artificial intelligence tools. No AI tools were used in the preparation of this article.

Conflict of Interest. The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Funding. The study had no sponsorship.

Received: April 23, 2026 / Accepted: June 18, 2026 / Published: July 31, 2026

1. Orphic hymns. In: Takho-Godi A.A., ed. Ancient Hymns. The «University Library» Series [Antichnye gimny. Seriya «Universitetskaya biblioteka»]. Moscow; 1988. (in Russian)

2. Telkov B., Isupova O., Razlivinsky Ya. Life and Hygiene According to Erisman [Zhizn’ i gigiena po Erismanu]. Ekaterinburg: Ural’skoe literaturnoe agentstvo; 2022. (in Russian)

3. Erisman F.F. Course of Hygiene. Volume I. Moscow: Tipografiya A.A. Kartseva; 1887. (in Russian)

4. Molkov A.V. School Hygiene. Lecture Plan for the 1926–27 Academic Year [Shkol’naya gigiena. Lektsionnyi plan 1926-27 uchebnogo goda]. Moscow: Medsantrud; 1927. (in Russian)

5. Mol’kov A.V. School Hygiene [Shkol’naya gigiena]. Moscow-Leningrad: Biomedgiz; 1934. (in Russian)

6. Mol’kov A.V., Syrkin L.A. School Hygiene: A Guide for Medical Students and Physicians [Shkol’naya gigiena: Rukovodstvo dlya studentov med institutov i vrachei]. Moscow-Leningrad: Biomedgiz; 1937. (in Russian)

7. Mol’kov A.V. Practical Handbook on School Hygiene [Praktikum-spravochnik po shkol’noi gigiene]. Moscow: Poligrafkombinat im. V.M. Molotova; 1939. (in Russian)

8. Kardashenko V.N. 50 years of the Department of Child and Adolescent Hygiene at the First Moscow Medical Institute named after I.M. Sechenov. Gigiena i Sanitaria (Hygiene and Sanitation, Russian journal). 1976; 55(11): 68–71. (in Russian)

9. Korsunskaya M.I., Fokina N.S. A.V. Molkov – one of the founders of Soviet school hygiene. Gigiena i Sanitariya (Hygiene and Sanitation, Russian journal). 1960; 39(10): 7–12. (in Russian)

10. Ivanovskii P.M. Sanitary Regime in Children’s Institutions [Sanitarnyi rezhim detskikh uchrezhdenii]. Moscow: Medgiz; 1934. (in Russian)

11. Bolshakova M.D. P.M. Ivanovsky (1885–1953). Gigiena i Sanitariya (Hygiene and Sanitation, Russian journal). 1964; 43(4): 34–7. (in Russian)

12. Bolshakova M.D., Kardashenko V.N., Kondakova L.P. Guide to Practical Classes in Child and Adolescent Hygiene [ukovodstvo k prakticheskim zanyatiyam po gigiene detei i podrostkov]. Moscow: Medgiz; 1958. (in Russian)

13. Kardashenko V.N. 50 years of the Department of Child and Adolescent Hygiene at the First Moscow Medical Institute named after I.M. Sechenov. Gigiena i Sanitariya (Hygiene and Sanitation, Russian journal). 1976; 55(11): 68–71. (in Russian)

14. Kardashenko V.N., ed. Child and Adolescent Hygiene [Gigiena detei i podrostkov]. Moscow: Meditsina; 1980. (in Russian)

15. Kardashenko V.N., Stromskaya E.P. Child and Adolescent Hygiene [Gigiena detei i podrostkov]. Moscow: Meditsina; 1988. (in Russian)

16. Kardashenko V.N. Guide to Laboratory Classes in Child and Adolescent Hygiene [Rukovodstvo k laboratornym zanyatiyam po gigiene detei i podrostkov]. Moscow: Meditsina; 1983. (in Russian)

17. On the anniversary of V.N. Kardashenko. Gigiena i Sanitariya (Hygiene and Sanitation, Russian journal). 1998; 77(4): 80–1. (in Russian)

18. Kuchma V.R., ed. Methods of Control and Management of Sanitary and Epidemiological Well‑Being of Children and Adolescents: A Practical Guide to Child and Adolescent Hygiene for Students of Preventive Medicine Faculties [Metody kontrolya i upravleniya sanitarno-epidemiologicheskim blagopoluchiem detei i podrostkov – prakticheskoe rukovodstvo po gigiene detei i podrostkov dlya studentov mediko-profilakticheskikh fakul’tetov vysshikh meditsinskikh uchebnykh zavedenii]. Moscow; 1999. (in Russian)

19. Kuchma V.R. Child and Adolescent Hygiene [Gigiena detei i podrostkov]. Moscow: GEOTAR‑Media; 2022. (in Russian)

20. Kuchma V.R., ed. Hygiene of Children and Adolescents. A Guide to Practical Classes [Gigiena detei i podrostkov. Rukovodstvo k prakticheskim zanyatiyam]. Moscow: GEOTAR-Media; 2025. (in Russian)

21. Kuchma V.R. Fundamentals of Children’s Health Formation [Osnovy formirovaniya zdorov’ya detei]. Rostov-na-Donu: Feniks; 2016. https://elibrary.ru/ysgoen (in Russian)

22. Kuchma V.R. Fundamentals of Children’s Health Formation [Osnovy formirovaniya zdorov’ya detei]. Rostov-na-Donu; 2023. (in Russian)

23. Kuchma V.R., ed. Fedor Petrovich Gaaz. Russia, Moscow, Maly Kazenny Lane: the Path of Mercy and Compassion for the Suffering [Fedor Petrovich Gaaz. Rossiya, Moskva, Malyi Kazennyi pereulok: put’ miloserdiya i sostradaniya strazhdushchim]. Moscow; 2020. (in Russian)

24. Kuchma V.R., ed. Inspection Visit of a Hygienist Doctor to a General Education Organization: An Educational and Methodological Manual for Students [Inspektsionnyi vizit vracha-gigienista v obshcheobrazovatel’nuyu organizatsiyu]. Moscow; 2026. (in Russian)

25. Kuchma V.R., ed. Hygienic Assessment and Analysis of the State of Sanitary and Epidemiological Conditions and the Organization of the Educational and Upbringing Process, as Well as Medical Support in General Education Organizations «The Role of a Pediatrician at School» [Gigienicheskaya otsenka i analiz sostoyaniya sanitarno-epidemiologicheskikh uslovii i organizatsii protsessa vospitaniya i obucheniya, meditsinskogo obespecheniya v obshcheobrazovatel’noi organizatsii «Den’ vracha-pediatra v shkole»]. Moscow; 2026. (in Russian)

26. Kuchma V.R., ed. Hygiene of Children and Adolescents. State Control and Sanitary-Epidemiological Well‑Being in Terms and Definitions (Over 250 Terms) [Gigiena detei i podrostkov. Gosudarstvennyi kontrol’ v sfere obespecheniya sanitarno-epidemiologicheskogo blagopoluchiya detskogo naseleniya v terminakh i opredeleniyakh. Bolee 250 terminov]. Moscow; 2023. (in Russian)

27. Kuchma V.R., ed. Hygiene of Children and Adolescents. State Control in the Field of Ensuring Sanitary and Epidemiological Well‑Being of the Child Population in Questions and Answers [Gigiena detei i podrostkov. Gosudarstvennyi kontrol’ v sfere obespecheniya sanitarno-epidemiologicheskogo blagopoluchiya detskogo naseleniya v voprosakh i otvetakh]. Moscow; 2023. (in Russian)

28. Kuchma V.R., ed. Hygiene. Basic Concepts, Terms and Definitions [Gigiena. Osnovnye ponyatiya, terminy i opredeleniya]. Moscow; 2025. (in Russian)

29. Kuchma V.R., ed. Hygiene. A Guide to Practical Classes [Gigiena. Rukovodstvo k prakticheskim zanyatiyam]. Moscow; 2025. (in Russian)

30. Kuchma V.R., ed. Workshop on Hygiene [Praktikum po gigiene]. Moscow; 2025. (in Russian)