HYGIENIC AND SANITARY-EDUCATIONAL BASICS OF THE RADIATION ANXIETY PREVENTION AMONG THE POPULATION IN THE REGIONS WITH NUCLEAR-ENERGY COMPLEX ENTERPRISES

Background. The development of nuclear power in the countries affected by the Chernobyl accident is accompanied by a high level of radiation anxiety among the local population. The purpose of the work is the scientific substantiation of methodological approaches to determine the level and prevalence of radiation anxiety among residents of regions with enterprises of the nuclear power complex, and the development of a system of measures for their prevention. Material and methods. The features of the subjective assessment of the health and psychological status of residents of the cities of Kirovograd, ZholtyeVody (n = 387) and Volnogorsk (control group, n = 208) were studied. An original method was developed to determine the level of radiation anxiety by qualitative characteristics. Results. A low level of radiation anxiety was found in 52.5% of respondents, an average – in 27.6%, a high level – in 3.9%, it directly correlated with self-esteem of the state of health (rs = 0.134; p <0.10), presence of oncological pathologies in family (rs = 0.209, p <0.001) and the respondent's conviction that there is a direct relationship between cancer and radiation (rs = 0.302, p <0.001). Conclusions. The developed method makes it possible to determine the respondents' attitude to the problem of the effect of ionizing radiation on the health status and group people according to the level of anxiety for further planning of health improvement measures.