O. Hudoshyna1, V. Chernenko2
1 Department of Quality Control of Medical Care of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukraine
2 Specialized State Institution “Ukrainian ransplant Coordination Center”, Kyiv, Ukraine
ABSTRACT. During emergencies and armed conflicts, medical institutions face challenges that require the administration to make well-thought-out decisions and have proper internal and external communication.
Aim. To analyze the Ukrainian and international experience of communications of medical institutions during wartime in Ukraine to increase readiness for effective functioning and improve interaction with key partners.
Materials and Methods. A survey of employees of 45 medical institutions in different regions of Ukraine was conducted to assess the level of management during emergencies and wartime.
Results. The results of the self-assessment of internal communication effectiveness show that 51.1 % of respondents assessed communication as “rather effective,” indicating a basic level of functioning with potential for improvement. Additionally, 62.2 % of respondents indicated that their institutions have internal communication protocols in place that are regularly updated, suggesting institutional maturity and a systematic approach to risk management. However, only 20 % of healthcare institutions conduct crisis communication training regularly, which is a critically low figure under martial law. Most hospitals coordinate their actions with local authorities (77.8 %), other healthcare institutions (60 %), and emergency services and police (57.8 %). Only 17.8% of institutions reported active coordination with the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, and even fewer with international humanitarian organizations (6.7 %) and non-state partners (8.9 %).
Conclusions. The communication function in Ukrainian healthcare is not sufficiently institutionalized. WHO principles on communication in emergencies are only partially integrated and implemented in a fragmented manner. Personnel training in strategic communication is irregular, and coordination across management levels is weak. The military context further complicates the situation.
Keywords: communications, health care, health care facilities, war, empirical analysis.
СПИСОК ВИКОРИСТАНИХ ДЖЕРЕЛ / REFERENCES
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Received December, 08, 2025
Review dates March, 3, 2026; May, 11, 2026
Publication date June, 12, 2026