ИСТИНА

The aim of this study was to investigate regional mortality differences in Ukraine, cause-of-death patterns and trends at different spatial scales. First of all, general contrasts were established: for males between the west and east of Ukraine, while for females between the west and south-east. Study of regional disparities in respect of different age groups revealed that regions that succeeded the most are those characterized by decreased mortality at older ages. As for big cities, for the most of cases of death (except cancer and infectious diseases) living in a big metropolis is an advantage to surviving. The special case of the city of Slavutych that suffered the most from Chernobyl accident was studied. Second, special attention was given to regional patterns of mortality for different medical cause of death, and which showed that Ukrainian regions are at different stages in the fight against man-made and degenerative diseases. Lastly, peculiarities of dynamics over last two decades were investigated. During this period life expectancy has experienced a sharp decrease, followed by stagnation, and recovery. This evolution was accompanied by transformation of regional cause-specific mortality patterns. These changes, larger and smaller, were not actually accounted for by public authorities and no important breakthroughs happened in any Ukraine region. There were no efficient strategies, measures or reforms implemented that would allow substantial improvements in the health of the population. Key words: mortality analysis, spatial analysis, regional differences, lifespan disparity, causes of death, Eastern Europe, Ukraine, post-Soviet countries.