IMAGE FORMATION IN CONDITIONS OF UNCERTAINTY IN THE ENVIRONMENT OF HEALTH CARE INSTITUTIONS ON THE EXAMPLE OF A STUDENT POLYCLINIC

Abstract

Awareness of the value of health is one of the elements of national culture, a criterion of socio-economic well-being of a particular country and society as a whole. In conditions of environmental uncertainty, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and martial law in Ukraine, the creation of a positive image and its effective popularization has become relevant for healthcare institutions (ZOZ).Objective. To establish the main factors of environmental uncertainty in which HCPs operate in Ukraine, as well as to identify possible ways and approaches to creating a proper image using the example of a student polyclinic (ZOZ-1).Methods and materials. The research materials were analytical reports and certificates of HCP-1 for 2020-2024, reports and data from open information sites on the activities of domestic ZOZ. Research methods: meta-analysis of reporting documents on the work of ZOZ in the conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic and martial law in Ukraine, desk and field research, observation, analysis and modeling methods.Results and discussion. The developed performance indicators of an individual health care facility allowed us to analyze its work in an uncertain environment. The COVID-19 pandemic became a factor that led to significant changes in the healthcare system of Ukraine at the level of individual institutions, in particular the student polyclinic. Under pressure from quarantine restrictions, problems with the provision of services, and increased demand for medical care, the health care facility was forced to restructure its work processes in order to continue serving a specific contingent of patients. The health care facility provided medical care to students of four higher education institutions, as well as residents of the city of Lviv. The total number of people receiving services reached hundreds of thousands, which created additional challenges in the context of the pandemic. The beginning of a full-scale war in 2022 became another test for the student polyclinic. The war increased the pressure on the health care staff and resources of the health care facility, while simultaneously causing a restructuring of the entire healthcare system.ZOZ-1 found itself in new realities: limited funding, staff shortage, growing population needs and the need to adapt to reform.An important stage in the functioning of the polyclinic was its accession to the second ZOZ association, which, on the one hand, provided the opportunity to work in a new structure, but at the same time led to the loss of a certain autonomy and the need to protect the interests of a specific contingent of patients, since ZOZ-1 serves mainly the youth contingent – higher education students, providing services: prevention, treatment of mental disorders and primary medical care. We have developed approaches to creating a positive image of ZOZ-1, which were based on a focus on the professional level, the use of modern technologies and active interaction with education students and the public. Accordingly, ZOZ-1 can strengthen its image and reputation as an important medical institution for the youth contingent and the city's population. The unique features of the polyclinic, accumulated experience and properly organized work will allow us to defend the right to autonomous existence, providing high-quality medical care in the face of modern challenges.Conclusions. For the past five years, Ukrainian health care institutions have had to work in an uncertain environment, which was caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and the armed invasion of the Russian Federation into the territory of our state in 2022.However, even in these conditions, the country continues to reform the health care system. Creating a positive image and its effective promotion is the key to the successful functioning of a student polyclinic as a leading and original health care institution in terms of its specific activities.