Area of the territory and features of the health care system in the arctic zone of the republic of Sakha (Yakutia)

Implementing major projects for development of the Arctic regions of the Russian Federation and ensuring sustainable economic growth of these regions, the government pays a special attention to the social development and improvement of medical care in remote and hard-to-reach areas of the Russian Arctic. In recent years, research of the people’s health and influencing factors have intensified. The Ministry of Health of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) carried out large federal and republican programs to develop the material and technical equipment and ensure appropriate staffing of medical institutions in the Arctic and northern regions. The Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) is one of the most isolated and hard-to-reach regions of Russia, therefore, development of medical care in the Arctic zone is particularly important. The article presents the characteristics of the Arctic zone of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), population density 1 km², distance of settlements from the center. The percent of remote and hard-to-reach settlements in the arctic regions ranges from 38 to 80%. The network of medical institutions with analysis of equipment and staffing is presented in detail. The article reflects the specifics of medical care in the Arctic zone in the context of the territory scale. The identified peculiarities make it necessary to develop differentiated regional mechanisms of implementing the state policy of healthcare development in the regions of the Far North of the Russian Federation. It would be reasonable to consider the possibility of developing a medical care sub-program taking into account the Arctic specifics.