Sorry, you need to enable JavaScript to visit this website.
Skip to main content
European Commission logo

YouthWiki

EACEA National Policies Platform
Estonia

Estonia

7. Health and Well-Being

7.7 Making health facilities more youth friendly

Last update: 28 November 2023
On this page
  1. Youth-friendly sexual and reproductive health (YFSRH) services for young people
  2. Children’s mental health centres

Youth-friendly sexual and reproductive health (YFSRH) services for young people

The first YFSRH services clinic in Estonia was started in 1991. The youth clinics network was created simultaneously with Estonian school-based sexuality education programme, web-based counselling and national campaigns.

The youth clinics (YC) are departments of larger healthcare institutions, private gynaecological practices, or private healthcare companies. All the clinics offer free services to young people up to the age of 25 years of age in Estonian and Russian. Most of the clinics are open daily and serve exclusively young people. All the clinics must comply with the quality requirements and operational principles of the youth clinics network, which define: 1) objectives of YCs, 2) operational principles, 3) sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services provided, 4) target groups, 5) quality requirements, and 6) monitoring and evaluation indicators. YCs’ service package included the following SRH services:

  1. STI consultations; STI testing, treatment and follow-up consultations, HIV services; voluntary confidential counselling and testing and in case of an HIV positive result referral for specialist consultation.
  2. Contraceptive consultations; information and counselling about contraceptives, prescription and renewal of contraceptive prescriptions, and insertion of contraceptive devices.
  3. SRH counselling; counselling, pregnancy diagnostics and referral for antenatal care or safe abortion, psychological counselling, human papillomavirus vaccination and counselling, and a range of other SRH services.
  4. Sexuality education lessons at schools or YCs.

Youth clinics services have been financed by Estonian Health Insurance Fund and educational lessons by projects or local governments. The Estonian Sexual Health Association is a non-governmental organisation, which coordinates and represents the YCN.

Children’s mental health centres

Four regional children’s mental health centres have been founded with the support of the Norwegian Financial Mechanism in 2014 (see chapter 7.5 for further information). From April 2016, the centres' services are partly financed by Estonian Health Insurance Fund.

The main task of centres is the organisation of diagnostics and treatment of mental health disorders by complying with modern principles of treatment and evidence-based practice. Inpatient and outpatient treatment is provided in Tallinn, Tartu and Viljandi, outpatient treatment is provided in Pärnu and Ida-Viru County.