Olga A. Belova,
Natalya P. Shchetinina
FSBEI HE “Ryazan State University named for S. Yesenin” of the Ministry of education and science of the Russian Federation
46 Svobody St., Ryazan 390000, Russia

The article attempts to analyse the characteristics of the formation of the elements of school health supervision in the Ryazan province in the period from 1864 to 1890. Key takeaways from the establishment and development of elements of school health supervision in this region are identified. An analysis of documents from this period (congress reports, statistical reports, memoranda, teachers’ guidelines) enabled to draw conclusions on the leading role played by the zemstvo in the formation of elements of school health supervision in the Ryazan province in the said period, as well as the collaborative efforts of zemstvo doctors and teachers in the implementation of preventive measures in both urban and rural zemstvo schools. All this gradually led to the improvement of sanitary conditions in school buildings and a decline in the incidence of epidemic diseases (smallpox, diphtheria, etc). Zemstvo doctors in the Ryazan province assigned great significance to the medical-topographic description of the area, conducted sanitary and statistical work in their localities, and provided the results to the Provincial Zemstvo Assembly. During this period, doctors and teachers paid special attention to the vaccination of school pupils. The role of vaccinators was played by paramedics, midwives and teachers – graduates of the Aleksandrovskaya Teachers’ Training College.

The conclusion drawn is that the formation of the elements of school health supervision in the Ryazan province should be associated with the period from the late 1870s to the early 1880s, when the legislative framework regulating this field started taking shape.

Keywords: history of medicine, zemstvo, zemstvo medicine, Ryazan Province, Zemstvo school, doctor, teacher, school hygiene, school and health supervision