The Department of Hygiene and Ecology of Kharkiv National Medical University (KhNMU) is a descendant of the preventive medicine departments established throughout the university’s existence. Before the creation of an independent department of hygiene, the discipline was taught in other departments as part of courses in medical police, hygiene, and dietetics.

The Department of Hygiene was established as a separate entity in 1873. A.I. Yakobiy (1827–1907) was the founder and first head of the department, he led the department until 1885. Thanks to his efforts, the hygiene course at the university developed as an independent subject of teaching, science, and medical practice.

The department dealt with general issues of hygiene. Over the years, it was headed by distinguished hygiene specialists, including Professors I.P. Skvortsov (1885–1905), I.I. Kiyanitsin (1905–1908), S.V. Korshun (1908–1917), Ya.M. Zilber (1918–1922), A.A. Tsvetaev (1923–1925), V.O. Uglov (1927–1930), V.O. Yakovenko (1930–1941), Z.D. Gorkin (1941–1945), and M.L. Koshkin (1945–1965).

Since 1965, the department was headed by Professor M.P. Vorontsov, and from 2002 until its reorganization, by his student, Professor V.O. Korobchanskyi. According to the academic programs, students of the 2nd and 3rd years, depending on their specialization, were trained at the department. Since 1951, the study of the biological effects of ultraviolet radiation has been the leading research topic of the department. More recently, research interests have focused on the hygienic and psychophysiological issues of education in various educational institutions. Joint research with the Research Institute of Industrial Hygiene and Occupational Diseases was conducted in the field of occupational hygiene and professional pathology.

In 1997, after organizational changes to comply with the requirements of the educational process, the department was renamed the “Department of General Hygiene and Ecology No.1.”

In addition to the mentioned department of general preventive direction, during the existence and development of the scientific and educational components of hygiene as a discipline, narrowly specialized departments were created at the university, gaining recognition not only in Ukraine but also abroad.

In 1923, the first Department of Occupational Hygiene was founded at the Faculty of Medicine of Kharkiv Medical Institute (KhMI). The creation of this department was driven by the need to prepare medical professionals to combat high levels of occupational diseases and injuries. Professor Ezro Moiseyevich Kagan (1887–1948), a renowned hygienist, was the founder and first head of the department. The student training program developed by the department in 1928 was approved as a standard for higher education institutions in Ukraine. Professor E.M. Kagan’s “Lecture Course” was used for many years as a primary teaching material for students.

From 1938 to 1968, the Department of Occupational Hygiene was headed by Z.D. Gorkin (1896–1970). In 1940, under his editorship, the first textbook for practical classes for students of the sanitary-hygienic faculty was published.

From 1968 to 1971 and from 1977 to 1993, the department was led by Professor G.I. Yevtushenko, who was also the director of the Kharkiv Research Institute of Industrial Hygiene and Occupational Diseases. The main research focus of the department was the study of the biological effects of low-frequency pulsed electromagnetic waves.

The Department of Community Hygiene, founded in 1933 by Academician O.M. Marzeyev (1882–1956), was another preventive medicine department of KhMI. In different years, such outstanding scientists and teachers as M.V. Yevmentiev, V.M. Zhabotinsky, R.S. Kobrin, D.M. Kalyuzhny and others worked at the department. The department focused on studying the sanitary condition of cities and villages, natural hygienic factors, and developing hygienic principles and standards for urban planning. In 1936–1938, under O.M. Marzeyev’s editorship, a two-volume textbook on community hygiene, “Fundamentals of Community Hygiene,” was published. In 1945, Marzeyev began work on the world’s first textbook on community hygiene, which was published in 1951. Later, the department was headed by Associate Professors V.O. Krivoshey (1973–1985) and M.H. Shcherban (1985–1988). In 1978, the department included a group on pediatric hygiene.

In 1988, the Departments of Occupational Hygiene and Community Hygiene were merged under the leadership of Professor G.I. Yevtushenko, and from 1993 to 1997, the department was headed by Professor V.I. Zhukov. He initiated a new research direction on the biological effects of simple polyethers on humans and their impact on water objects.

In 1933, the Department of Nutrition Hygiene was founded at KhMI, with Associate Professor M.Z. Luk’yanovych serving as its first head until 1941. The department developed methods for studying foods, culinary issues, and additional food resources. From 1945 to 1971, the department was led by Professor V.O. Syvoronov, followed by M.I. Ivashchenko from 1971 to 1988. The department focused on preventing food poisonings and issues of rational nutrition. Until 1997, the department was headed by Associate Professor M.V. Kryvonosov. In addition to the significant educational and methodological component, the main direction of the scientific work of the department at this time remained the development of diets of medical-preventive nutrition for chemical industry workers.

Another specialized department, the Department of Pediatric Hygiene, was established in response to the rapid development of preschool and school institutions in the early 1930s. In 1930, medical institutes organized special faculties for maternal and child health protection, including corresponding departments. Such a faculty was organized at KhMI in 1930. It, together with others, included the Department of School Hygiene, hygienist S.M. Eckel was elected the head of this department. Such a department was the first in Ukraine and one of the first in the USSR. S.M. Eckel started with no curricula, no programs, and no teaching experience, and was able, practically from scratch, to create this hygienic discipline. He headed the department until December 1951.

After him, the department was headed by Associate Professor Z.P. Kovalkova (1951-1961), a manual for practical classes was published under her editorship in 1958. From 1961 to 1971, the department was headed by Prof. A.A. Sychov. In 1971, the department was attached to the department of general hygiene (which at that time was headed by Prof. M.P. Vorontsov), and in 1978, as a cycle on pediatric hygiene, it was transferred to the department of community hygiene. In 1988, the course on pediatric hygiene was transferred again, and now to the department of nutrition hygiene (the head of the department – associate professor M.V. Krivonosov).

In 1997, all specialized hygiene departments were merged into a single “Department of Hygiene and Ecology No.2,” which was headed by an academician of the Academy of Sciences of the Higher School of Ukraine at the time, a full member of the International Academy of Computer Sciences and Systems, doctor of medical sciences, professor M.V. Kryvonosov.

Until the 2007/2008 academic year, two hygiene departments worked at the university: the “Department of General Hygiene and Ecology No. 1,” which laid the foundation for hygiene knowledge for students, and the “Department of General Hygiene and Ecology No. 2,” where specialized hygiene disciplines were taught to senior students.

After September 2007, following reorganization measures, the two departments were merged into a single “Department of Hygiene and Ecology.”

In May 2009, the university’s Academic Council decided to separate the departments again. In September 2009, two departments were formed: “Department of Hygiene and Ecology No. 1,” headed by Professor V.O. Korobchanskyi, and “Department of Hygiene and Ecology No. 2,” led by Professor I.V. Zavgorodnii. The actual distribution of the academic load and scientific interests of the departments were practically the same as before the unification in 2007.

Currently, after the events of February 2022, taking into account the changes taking place in society, the issues of reforming the medical field and the requirements of relevant ministries (Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health of Ukraine), the departments were united again (decision of the Academic Council of the University of June 28, 2024, Record No. 7). The United Department of Hygiene and Ecology was headed by Professor, Doctor of Medical Sciences, Academician of the National Academy of Higher Education of Ukraine, Chairman of the Expert Commission of KhNMU I.V. Zavgorodnii.