Heategevus- ja solidaarsusmeditsiini problemaatikast Eesti näitel

Alternative, folk, and state medicine services intersect in the spheres of voluntary assistance and joint financing, donation medicine, charity movement, and solidary charity. Voluntary activity involves many people in different age groups and with different opportunities, and is wider than changes in lifestyle and an inherent turn to local activities and stances. The global trend remains in the transitional area of different domains, yet its deeply humane message, joint assistance to people in an emergency situation, constitutes the continuation of traditional means of assistance in today’s society. Charity medicine has opened up new topics for humanitarian studies. The article discusses the state and local institutions’ supportive activities for health care and, for example, for the coping strategies of people with severe health damage, as well as the support provided by different media channels for people with health issues, and voluntary help based on personal free will. The article focuses on the following questions: What is the status of solidarity in today’s medicine and welfare services? What are the characteristics, approaches, and results of charity medicine in Estonia? What questions are raised by charity? Do we deal with only medical and health issues or with human fractals?