Scientific Activity

The scientific activity of the Department of Therapy and Rehabilitation is an important component in developing the educational, scientific, and innovative potential of the National University of Water Management and Nature Resources Use.

The scientific and pedagogical staff of the Department of Therapy and Rehabilitation are actively engaged in scientific and publishing activities. Over the past five years, they have published a significant number of scientific works in periodicals indexed in international scientometric databases such as Scopus and Web of Science, as well as in professional scientific publications in Ukraine. Furthermore, the lecturers have prepared textbooks, study guides, monographs, and educational-methodological materials, and the results of their research are regularly tested at international and national scientific conferences.

The academic and teaching staff of the department continually raise their level of professional competence through internships, training sessions, qualification improvement courses, and participation in scientific and practical seminars. Professors I.M. Hryhus and N.Ye. Nesterchuk, associate professor V.I. Horoshko, and lecturer O.I. Nikolenko are experts with the National Agency for Quality Assurance in Higher Education in the field of knowledge 22 "Healthcare." Professor I.M. Hryhus is also a member of the industry expert council in this field.

The department's faculty has significant achievements in the field of intellectual property and are authors of patents and certificates for utility models. From 2020 to 2025, 14 such documents were obtained. Considerable attention is also given to training research personnel. Professor I.M. Hrygus provides scientific supervision for doctoral students, under whose guidance defenses have taken place.andPhD programsandand doctoral dissertations. Professor N.E. Nesterchuk oversees the training of postgraduate students. The department's lecturers also participate in the work of specialized academic councils as official opponents of dissertation research for obtaining the degrees of Doctor of Philosophy and Doctor of Sciences.

Scientific activities of the Department of Therapy and Rehabilitation aimed at integrating the educational process, scientific research, and practical activities in accordance with the Concept of combining education, innovation, and scientific research (protocol No. 6 dated June 26, 2020)https://ep3.nuwm.edu.ua/18584/The implementation of this concept involves the active involvement of higher education students in research work, which takes place during classes, internships, the completion of coursework and research projects, as well as the preparation of startup projects under the guidance of the academic and teaching staff of the department. In the process of educational and research activitieshigher education seekersThey master modern methods of scientific research, acquire skills in analyzing scientific literature, conducting surveys, functional testing, interviewing, and statistical processing and interpretation of obtained results.

An important form of organizing scientific work for students is the activity of student scientific clubs that operate at the Department of Therapy and Rehabilitation. Within the framework of the clubs "Rehab-Skills: Assess, Design, Implement" led by Professor N.Ye. Nesterchuk, "Diagnosis of Patients' Health Status and Development of Physical Therapy Programs" led by Professor I.M. Hryhuz, and "Technologies of Health and Rehabilitation Work" led by O.I. Nikolenko, students participate in conducting scientific research, developing and testing physical therapy and rehabilitation programs, performing experimental studies, and presenting the results of their work at scientific events.

The result of the active scientific activitiesof higher education seekersis their success in nationwide competitions and scientific events. Seekers of educational programs at the department have repeatedly become winners of the National Competition of Student Scientific Works. In various years, prize places were won by Udodik Sofia, Zhuk V., Sholota T., Petrovskaya N., Korniichuk S., Shapovalova B., Shapovalov V., Vasevych O., Varvaryk B., and other seekers. The participation ofhigher education seekersin international scientific events is active. In particular, in 2023–2025, higher education seekers participated in a series of International Scientific and Practical Conferences “Modern Challenges of Education and Science”, organized by the Educational and Scientific Institute of Health Care. The number of student reports increased annually, and the research results were presented in English or Polish, contributing to the development of academic mobility and integration into the international scientific space.

The results of scientific research by seekers are confirmed by publications in scientific journals. In particular, seekers Petrovskaya N. and Udodik S., in collaboration with Professor N.Ye. Nesterchuk, published scientific articles in the professional journal Rehabilitation and Recreation, which is indexed in the Scopus scientometric database. Also, the research results ofhigher education seekersPetrovskaya N., Korniichuk S., Udodik S., Kyrylovets S., Harkushenko M., Harkushenko V., Kashovskyi K., Cheban O., and others were published in international collective monographs “Interdisciplinary Aspects of Implementing Rehabilitation Measures” and “Interdisciplinarity of Physical Culture and Safety”, confirming the high level of scientific training of the seekers.

An important direction of the department's scientific activity development is innovation and startup activity. Teams from the Educational and Scientific Institute of Health Care have repeatedly become winners of the university startup project competition “Cool Idea” in the categories of “Best Social Startup” and “Best Technological Startup”. Under the scientific supervision of Professor N.Ye. Nesterchuk, a startup project called “RehabHand – multifunctional rehabilitation gadget” was developed, which won the international startup project competition “Sikorsky Challenge 2025” in the category of “Best Idea for a Startup”.

Seekers of educational programs at the department demonstrate high individual scientific achievements and receive prestigious academic awards. For instance, Petrovskaya Nadia took second place in the National Student Distance Olympiad held by the National University “Zaporizhzhya Polytechnic” in 2025. For high achievements in education and scientific activities,higher education seekersreceive named academic scholarships. Udodik Sofia became a scholarship holder of the “Zavtra.UA” program of the Victor Pinchuk Foundation in the 2024–2025 academic year. In the 2025–2026 academic year, Petrovskaya Nadia received the M.S. Hrushevskyi academic scholarship, while Udodik Sofia received the academic scholarship of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. In addition, Nesterchuk N.Ye. and Udodik S. received copyright certificate No. 124576 for the scientific article in 2024.

An important direction of the department's scientific activity is cooperation with professional practitioners and employers who are involved in the educational and research process. Experts from rehabilitation centers, medical institutions, educational organizations, and sports organizations participate in the implementation of educational programs and scientific projects, which promotes the integration of scientific research with the practical needs of the industry.

The scientific research of the department is conducted within the framework of the research work "Organizational and Methodical Features of Physical Therapy, Ergotherapy for Persons of Different Nosological, Professional, and Age Groups" (state registration number 0122U200755). The implementation of this theme is aimed at developing and introducing modern technologies of physical therapy and ergotherapy, improving rehabilitation methods, and enhancing the effectiveness of health recovery for various categories of the population.