Current state and main problems of volunteer activities of public associations in sphere of health protection in the Russian Federation

Objective. To analyze the current state and main problems of volunteer activities of public associations in Russian healthcare. Material and methods. The number of non-profit organizations (NPOs) engaged in volunteer activities in the Russian Federation (2021–2024) and survey of 8.499 respondents from 85 constituent entities of the Russian Federation regarding their attitude towards public associations in healthcare were analyzed. Results. Analysis of public sector in volunteering revealed a stable upward trend: from 9.563 NPOs engaged in volunteer activities in 2021 to 11.228 NPOs in 2024. According to sociological survey, one-third of respondents (33%) were unaware of activities of public associations in health protection and promotion. Another third of respondents (28.9%) believe that activities of these associations increase the trust between population and government authorities. Meanwhile, 36.8% of respondents found it difficult to answer the question. This can indicate no information among population regarding activities of public associations in health protection and promotion. Among the priority areas for these associations, respondents highlighted the following: protection of citizen rights in healthcare (50.1%), sanitary-hygienic education of population and preventive work (25.9%), and the need to develop the institution of volunteering (10.8%). Conclusion. Further development requires reorientation of NPOs towards solving specific legal problems of patients and increasing transparency of information, as social basis of public trust does not emerge without direct contact.