Kaja Põlluste

Health Reforms in Estonia: Acceptability, Satisfaction and Impact Kaja Põlluste

Since the early 1990s, the Estonian health sector hasbeen undergoing a number of reforms. At the sametime, a number of legislative acts have also beenestablished, forming a new legal basis for the healthsystem. The introduction of a social health insurancein 1992 was the first reform in the Estonian healthsector reorganisation, followed by a primary healthcare (PHC) reform, a hospital reform and a number ofpublic health reforms. The aim of this thesis is toanalyse these health sector reforms in Estonia,focusing on the outcomes of the health system fromthe population?s perspective. Proceeding from thisgeneral aim, the specific objectives of the thesisare as follows: 1) To analyse the PHC reform in terms of the accessto the health services and the acceptability andsatisfaction with these services. 2) To analyse the health insurance reform in terms ofthe acceptability and satisfaction with the new system. 3) To analyse the public health reforms and theirimpact on the health of the population.