The specifics of the formation of the sociology of medicine as a scientific specialty in the republic of Belarus

Abstract

The article presents a scientific review of the formation of the sociology of medicine in the Republic of Belarus, which was largely based on the experience of Russia, primarily the experience of the Russian scientific school of Sociology of Medicine of academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences A.V. Reshetnikov. A comparison of specialty passports in these countries, the formulas of which, in general, are not identical, but cover the same areas of research and emphasize the general subject field of the specialty, revealed that differences in specialty passports are determined by different models of healthcare financing, as well as the specifics of the medical, social and medical organizational situation in the Republic of Belarus and Russia. It is premature to assert the existence of a scientific school of sociology of medicine in the Republic of Belarus. However, the documents fundamental for the development of the scientific specialty (the passport of the specialty 14.02.05. and the candidate's minimum program) have been approved, and its dynamic development is confirmed by the implementation of international conferences, symposiums, round tables on the problems of sociology of medicine, the implementation of funded scientific projects (grants), the presence of established international scientific cooperation, the formed base of Belarusian scientific and scientific-practical peer-reviewed publications (monographs, practical manuals), the implementation of training programs for highly qualified scientific personnel. Taking into account the common history of the two friendly countries and stable cultural, socio-economic, and scientific ties, it currently seems to be a promising direction to conduct Russian-Belarusian scientific research on a wide range of issues related to the phenomena of health and disease, social aspects of medicine, modern global challenges to public health and the experience of overcoming them, the peculiarities of the formation of professional cultures (including cultural codes) in medicine, as well as digitalization trends not only in the sphere of public health protection but also the social space as a whole. In this regard, the primary task of sociologists of medicine today seems to be the need to fix the social facts of a new reality in the space of medicine and rethink them in the context of determining the current vectors of the strategy for the development of the sociology of medicine as a science.