The history of the Department of Public Health and Healthcare Management begins with the creation of the first department of social hygiene in Ukraine at the Kharkov Medical Institute. The founder of the department was the People’s Commissar of Health of the USSR Musiy Grigorievich Gurevich, who headed the department from October 27, 1923 until the spring of 1925. On the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the first in Ukraine department of social hygiene of the Kharkov Medical Institute of the People’s Commissariat of Health of the Ukrainian SSR, he noted the outstanding role of N.G. Gurevich as the organizer of the department, which “laid the foundation for the further development of social hygiene as a science and subject of teaching in Ukraine”.

Sergei Arkadevich Tomilin (1877-1952), who headed the department in 1925-1932, made a great contribution to the development of social hygiene problems. He is the author of over 100 scientific papers, including 17 monographs.
S.A. Tomilin created a school of social medics in Kharkov. Under his leadership, they grew up in famous scientists, became professors (I.A. Arnoldi, S.A. Gurevich, A.N. Merkov, F.I. Groysser, P.T. Petrov, I.I. Ovsienko, K.F. Duplenko and others).

In 1933, the department of social hygiene of the KhMI was headed by Zinovy Anatolyevich Gurevich (1898-1985). He gave 50 years of his life to the department, of which 41 years he headed it.
S.A. Gurevich is the author of 100 publications, including 14 monographs and brochures.
Throughout his career, he paid great attention to the training of scientific and pedagogical personnel. Employees, postgraduates, and practical health workers were involved in the work on dissertations. Under the leadership of S.A. Gurevich, 5 doctoral dissertations and 28 candidate dissertations were prepared and defended.

The department constantly paid attention to improving the educational process. In the 1930s, the scientists of the department prepared the first Ukrainian textbooks on social hygiene. Published “Essays on the theory of social hygiene” S.S. Kagan (1932), “Social hygiene” (lectures 1-8) S.A. Tomilin and A.M. Merkov (1933), “General theory of sanitary statistics” A.M. Merkov (11935), “Workshop on sanitary statistics” L.A. Abramovich, N.I. Kaminsky, P.T. Petrov (1940).

From August 3, 1974 to 2002, the Department was headed by Professor Nina Aleksandrovna Galichev (1931–2017). Cardiovascular issues remained the main direction of the department’s scientific activity. This topic was devoted to the doctoral dissertation of N.A. Galichev “Myocardial infarction and its prevention as a social and hygienic problem”. The work was a multifaceted study with the study of the prevalence of myocardial infarction in Kharkov over 25 years of risk factors; traced the fate of patients with myocardial infarction, studied the provision of medical care to these patients in a big city, and the like.

From February 2002 to January 2025, the department was headed by Professor Viktor Andriyovych Ognev.

From January 2025 to the present, the duties of the head of the department are performed by Candidate of Medical Sciences, Associate Professor Kateryna Heorhiivna Pomogaibo.