Formation and development of the healthcare system in the Altai Mountains in the 1930s

Abstract

The Altai Mountains were one of the national outskirts of Russia to which special attention was paid, as the indigenous population suffered particularly from epidemics due to their low standard of living and lack of immunity to many diseases. The meagre local budgets severely affected the population's material situation, social and medical services and led to an increased rate of disease. The Soviet authorities began to solve urgent problems in the sphere of public health protection. A consistent policy of the state in this sphere was expressed in the provision of sanitary and epidemiological well-being of the country, addressing the problems of the indigenous peoples of the national regions. The establishment and development of the health care system in the Altai Mountains took place in the context of measures taken by the state to solve these problems. With the help of state and local budgets, the organisation of the medical network emerged and developed, and certain socially dangerous diseases were successfully eliminated. The material and technical base of medical institutions was gradually formed. During this period the following important results in the field of health care have been achieved in the Altai Mountains: a wide network of stationary and mobile medical institutions: hospitals, medical and obstetric stations, antenatal clinics, specialized anti-epidemic institutions and sanatoriums; systematic training of medical personnel had started: medical staff was supplemented mainly through medical staff training, another way of training was the sending of fellows to higher and technical schools. These measures are an important step in the development of the health care system in the region. However, the regional characteristics of Oirotia, namely the patriarchal clan structure of much of the indigenous population, the nomadic way of life, the dispersion of the population and the small number of large settlements, have to a certain extent hindered the process of health care among the indigenous population.