INTERSECTORAL COOPERATION AT THE COMMUNITY LEVEL ON COMPREHENSIVE REHABILITATION OF VETERANS

Abstract

Considering that a new field of comprehensive rehabilitation is developing in Ukraine—canistherapy, as a method of human–animal interaction that has a positive impact on a person’s psychological state and improves their socialization processes—the article analyzes regulatory and legal documents in this field (the Civil Protection Code of Ukraine, the Concept for the Development of Mental Health Care in Ukraine for the Period until 2030, the Law of Ukraine «On Rehabilitation in the Field of Health Care», Order of the Ministry of Health No. 2118 «On the Organization of Provision of Psychosocial Assistance to the Population», the «Procedure and Conditions for Providing Psychological Assistance to War Veterans, Their Family Members, and Certain Other Categories of Persons», the Strategy for Building a System of Transition from Military Service to Civilian Life for the Period until 2033, the Law of Ukraine «On the Mental Health Care System in Ukraine2). The analysis of Ukrainian regulatory and legal documents in the fields of mental health support, rehabilitation, and health care allows us to establish that there are defined guarantees and conditions for preserving citizens’ mental health, ways of emergency response in crisis situations, and social services in the form of psychosocial support for various categories of citizens (children and youth, people with disabilities, internally displaced persons, the elderly, veterans and their families, etc.), as well as the implementation of comprehensive rehabilitation by type, including for those affected by the consequences of war. Legislation regulating the protection of animals, sanitary and hygienic conditions of interaction with them, and the prevention of the spread of infectious diseases has also been studied (the Law of Ukraine «On the Animal World», the Law of Ukraine «On Environmental Protection», the Law of Ukraine «On the Protection of Animals from Cruelty», the Law of Ukraine «On the Public Health System», the Law of Ukraine «On the Protection of the Population from Infectious Diseases»). The study of Ukrainian legislation has revealed that there are no special legislative acts regulating relations during therapeutic and rehabilitation activities based on the «human–animal» principle, including the use of canistherapy in institutions of the social sphere, education, or health care.