AIM To investigate the accessibility of family doctors in Estonia from the patients' point of view. METHODS Face to face interviews using structured questionnaires were performed. A random sample of the Estonian residents, aged 15-74 years, was studied (n=999). RESULTS The number of visits provided by family doctors has been continuously increasing since 1998. Out of 999 respondents, 59% vi...

BACKGROUND The objective of the EUROCHIP project in Estonia was to describe the organized cervical cancer screening program started in 2006 (after pilot studies in 2003-2005), to compare its performance with opportunistic screening, and to define priorities for improvement of the program. METHODS Population data was retrieved from Statistics Estonia, data about performed Pap-smear tests withi...

AIMS As part of the diagnosis related groups in Europe (EuroDRG) project, researchers from 11 countries (i.e. Austria, England, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Netherlands, Poland, Spain, and Sweden) compared how their DRG systems deal with patients admitted to hospital for acute myocardial infarction (AMI). The study aims to assist cardiologists and national authorities to optimize...

Human activities have begun to transform northern peatlands into global sources of dissolved organic carbon (DOC). In Estonia, there are 10,091 km of peatlands, constituting 22.3% of the country’s total area. The increasing number of drought days during the last 50 years, which constitutes a threat of an increased flux of dissolved carbon, has also been observed in Estonia. The aim of the curre...

Fluoride is a naturally occurring contaminant in groundwater in Estonia. There are several regions in Estonia with fluoride contents in public water supplies as high as 7 mg/L. Long-term exposure to high-fluoride drinking water may have several adverse health effects, primarily dental fluorosis. The opportunities for exposure reduction rely highly on water treatment technologies. Since 2004 pub...