The Protection of Childrenʼs Health in Karelia in the Early 1920s

Introduction. The child health protection system represented a complex of organizational and legal measures aimed at providing the necessary conditions for the full development of a healthy child, which included not only the treatment of diseases but also the implementation of preventive measures. Despite existing challenges in organizing quality medical care for children, the fundamental ideas for protecting children's health were established in the first half of the 1920s and were further developed in the following period. The aim of this research is to reconstruct the measures undertaken by the new government to protect the health of the younger generation in the early years of Soviet power (based on materials from Karelia). Materials and Methods. Based on a collection of archival materials and published sources, measures aimed at addressing the issue of high child mortality and morbidity are demonstrated. The preparation of the article utilized systematic, comparative-historical, and problem-chronological methods. Results and Discussion. The factors affecting the situation of the child population in Karelia have been analyzed; indicators of child mortality and its causes, birth rates, and natural population growth are presented, and the sanitary-epidemiological state of the region is described. The state measures taken to address child health protection issues are examined, including actions aimed at creating and developing a network of institutions providing medical and preventive care to children, which led to a decrease in child mortality and an increase in birth rates. Conclusion. The fundamental areas of focus in the work on protecting children's health were chosen to be screening, prevention, and vaccination. The conclusions drawn by the author contribute to the study of the child healthcare system in the early period of the Soviet era.