Legal and Economic Principles of the Development of Therapeutic Gardens as a Natural Healing Asset

Topicality. The development of additional infrastructure for the rehabilitation and improvement of the population is a pressing problem in Ukraine due to the negative and long-term factors of military operations. The topic of rehabilitation among all the medical proposals of modern medicine is most consonant with natural resources. Therapeutic gardens are an area that can be attributed to areas with a favorable rehabilitation impact and ecological significance, therefore, in the conditions of an increase in the number of the population with various physical and psychological disorders, they can be used as an additional tool for working with the patient in therapeutic and rehabilitation practice. In foreign experience, therapeutic gardens have become widespread not only as an additional infrastructure for therapy, but also as a public space that contributes to the support of vulnerable segments of the population. In Ukraine, this type of green spaces came late - only since 2022, when the share of the population in need of rehabilitation increased significantly, did the first projects of therapeutic gardens appear. The main problem is that the regulatory and legal sphere, local governments and even medical institutions are not ready for the specifics of the work of such green spaces. The integration of therapeutic gardens into Ukrainian practice requires solving a number of important issues: developing a regulatory and legal basis, developing a methodological approach to the process of implementing and operating therapeutic gardens, as well as training specialists to work with patients in a therapeutic garden. Aim and tasks. The purpose of the study is to develop proposals for the development of therapeutic gardens at the level of local municipalities and medical institutions, as well as in the context of regulatory and legal support. Materials and methods. When conducting the study, general scientific research methods were used: system analysis, synthesis and theoretical generalization. The information base for the study consists of the following: − scientific works of domestic and foreign colleagues in the field of development of therapeutic gardens, as well as on the rehabilitation impact of nature on humans; − official resources of foreign institutions specializing in therapeutic gardens; − regulatory and legal acts of Ukraine. Research results. The work substantiates the classification of therapeutic gardens as natural therapeutic assets, which makes their development relevant in the context of the resort economy and rehabilitation. The main result of the study is the development of proposals for addressing gaps in the regulatory and legal sphere and at the level of local municipalities and institutions, which are obtained on the basis of an analysis of foreign and domestic experience in the development of therapeutic gardens. The presented proposals are designed to promote the effective integration of therapeutic gardens into the experience of Ukraine, in order to provide conditions for the rehabilitation of the population and veterans in the war and post-war periods. Conclusion. Effective integration of therapeutic gardens depends on three components: development of regulatory framework, development of city and regional target programs, encouragement of medical institutions to create and use therapeutic gardens in their practice. Usually, these steps should be consistent, but due to the real need and relevance of such green areas, pilot projects have already been launched in Ukraine. Therefore, in this case, all steps should take place in parallel and be coordinated. It is important for Ukraine to form an environment of specialists in therapeutic gardens, promote their coordination, cooperation and exchange of knowledge. Therefore, the main task is to scale up pilot projects, establish a mechanism for their financing and further maintenance, and generate interest from medical institutions. In this context, it is proposed to use therapeutic gardens as a marketing tool for healthcare and rehabilitation institutions, which will contribute to their economic support and popularization of these green facilities.