Pharmaceutical policies in post-communist Albania: Progress and challenges toward European Union membership

Aim: Shifting from a communist regime to a democratic system has affected health system fundamentally in most of the Western Balkan countries including Albania. Albania became a European Union (EU) candidate country in 2014. Since then, one of the main concerns has been to approximate the legislation with the EU framework. The aim of this paper is to review the evolvement of pharmaceutical legislation in Albania and challenges toward achieving full approximation to the EU’s respective legislation.   Methods: We used qualitative techniques, especially means of conventional content analysis and two sources to collection data. First, we consulted the Albania’s National Publications Office webpage and analysed all available legislation regarding “pharmacy”, “medicine” and “pharmaceutical products” from 1994 to 2021. Then, we analysed the National Integration Plans that have been published by the Government of Albania from 2014 to 2021.   Results: The decrease of the price margin system goes in parallel with the increase of the pharmaceutical expenditure, including out-of-pocket expenditure on medicines and lack of adequate and sensitive reimbursement policies. The main pillars of the pharmaceutical sector in Albania are well-covered legally but not fully in concordance with the EU framework. Conclusion: There is a need to foster laws implementation that regulate the opening of pharmacies; a detailed regulation on pharmacovigilance; and a regulation on medicinal products for paediatric use. Also, the existing legal framework should be aligned with the European one. Medicine pricing methods should go in the same line with the decrease of out-of-pocket expenditure

Pharmaceutical policies in post-communist Albania: Progress and challenges toward European Union membership

Aim: Shifting from a communist regime to a democratic system has affected health system fundamentally in most of the Western Balkan countries including Albania. Albania became a European Union (EU) candidate country in 2014. Since then, one of the main concerns has been to approximate the legislation with the EU framework. The aim of this paper is to review the evolvement of pharmaceutical legislation in Albania and challenges toward achieving full approximation to the EU’s respective legislation.   Methods: We used qualitative techniques, especially means of conventional content analysis and two sources to collection data. First, we consulted the Albania’s National Publications Office webpage and analysed all available legislation regarding “pharmacy”, “medicine” and “pharmaceutical products” from 1994 to 2021. Then, we analysed the National Integration Plans that have been published by the Government of Albania from 2014 to 2021.   Results: The decrease of the price margin system goes in parallel with the increase of the pharmaceutical expenditure, including out-of-pocket expenditure on medicines and lack of adequate and sensitive reimbursement policies. The main pillars of the pharmaceutical sector in Albania are well-covered legally but not fully in concordance with the EU framework.   Conclusion: There is a need to foster laws implementation that regulate the opening of pharmacies; a detailed regulation on pharmacovigilance; and a regulation on medicinal products for paediatric use. Also, the existing legal framework should be aligned with the European one. Medicine pricing methods should go in the same line with the decrease of out-of-pocket expenditure

Digital applications as a means for promotion of healthy behaviours among Albanian children

Digital applications can be effective tools for strengthening school-based health education programs as they can provide valuable health information to children through interactive videos, quizzes and games. We aimed at assessing the change in the prevalence of healthy behaviours among children exposed to digital applications (intervention) employed for promoting healthy behaviours. We conducted a cross-sectional study before the intervention in March 2022 including a representative sample of 1500 Albanian schoolchildren (˜54% girls) aged 12-15 years. In June 2022, after 4-month exposure to digital applications aimed at promoting healthy behaviours (intervention), we carried out a second cross-sectional study in the same sample of schoolchildren. In both survey rounds, an anonymous and structured self-administered questionnaire inquired children about a range of behavioural practices including nutrition, oral health, physical activity and hygiene practices. After the intervention, overall, there was evidence of a significant increase in the prevalence of all healthy behavioural practices measured: ~9% for breakfast consumption and/or environmental protection, 12% for toothbrushing, 14% for handwashing, 15% for leisure time physical exercise and 24% for adequate fruit and vegetable intake (all p < 0.001). Engagement in healthy behaviours only after the intervention was higher among rural children (from 18% for breakfast consumption to 37% for handwashing and/or adequate fruit and vegetable intake) and especially those pertinent to Roma/Egyptian communities (from 18% for breakfast consumption to 46% for adequate fruit and vegetable intake), except for engagement in safe environmental protection which was more prevalent among urban residents (28% vs. 15% among rural children) and ethnic Albanian children (24% vs. 13% among Roma/Egyptian children). Our findings from Albania indicate that digital applications can be useful for strengthening school-based health promotion programs