Implementation of social programs and health projects as a condition for preserving the economic potential of rural areas

The article discusses the development of healthcare in rural areas as one of the important factors in preserving the economic potential of rural areas, which is important in the context of continued urbanization. As part of the ongoing modernization in the healthcare industry in the last few years before the pandemic, the general trend was to expand the network of medical institutions and move them to large economic centers. However, the large territorial extent of the country, the remoteness of individual settlements, the problem of transport accessibility of medical care and the time interval for receiving it have combined to form a low degree of attractiveness of rural settlements for life, since receiving high-quality and affordable medical care is one of the basic needs of a modern person. The study analyzed the main socio-demographic indicators of urban and rural areas in Russia, as well as basic indicators of the state of rural healthcare in the period 2019-2023. An assessment of existing rural development programs and the healthcare sector has also been carried out. It has been established that there remains a significant difference between urban and rural areas in Russia in terms of both economic and demographic indicators: outside of cities, the birth rate and average life expectancy are slightly lower, and in addition, the total rural population continues to decline. In rural healthcare, the general trend is to reduce the total number of medical institutions against the background of modernization in the industry – in 2023, there were 33.38 thousand healthcare institutions in rural areas. Also, in the period up to 2022, there was a reduction in the number of rural paramedic and obstetric centers. One of the important tasks is to optimize the location of the network of health facilities and clinics in villages, taking into account the number and density of the population, as well as transport accessibility and speed of pre-medical and medical care, which is important due to the territorial characteristics of the country.