ALBANIAN MEDICAL JOURNAL SUPPLEMENTQuality improvement efforts at the National Instituteof Public Health of KosovoValbona Zhjeqi 1 , Naser Ramadani 1 , R<strong>in</strong>a Hoxha 1 , Sanije Gashi 1 , Ilir Begolli 1 ,Drita Salihu 1 , Merita Berisha 11National Institute of Public Health, Prist<strong>in</strong>e, Kosovo.Aim: The aim of this research work was to assessusers satisfaction with the quality of health servicesprovided at the National Institute of Public Health(NIPH) and the Regional Institutes of Public Health(RIPH) <strong>in</strong> Kosovo.Methods: This was a cross-sectional survey. Studypopulation consisted of clients/users of the IPHsat both regional and national level. An anonymousquestionnaire (ten items organized <strong>in</strong> three doma<strong>in</strong>s)was adm<strong>in</strong>istered to all participants.Results: The study <strong>in</strong>volved 397 <strong>in</strong>dividuals: 217(55%) women and 180 (45%) men. Mean age ofthe respondents was 38.3 years. Access to the IPHwas not identified as a problem s<strong>in</strong>ce only 28 (7.1%)<strong>in</strong>dividuals reported not so easy access . Aproblem which was identified, concerns the fact thatusers do not know where to do a compla<strong>in</strong>t aga<strong>in</strong>stthe IPH. Of the 397 users, only 45.8% consideredpositively the overall quality of services provided atthe IPHs. Clients <strong>in</strong> Prist<strong>in</strong>e rema<strong>in</strong> the most criticalusers: 91% of them stated that they do not knowwhere to compla<strong>in</strong>, followed by the RPH <strong>in</strong> Ferizaj(64%). Among quality components, 12 of themwere evaluated and scored with an average markof 3.7. Compar<strong>in</strong>g average marks of the RIPH,Ferizaj RIPH was graded with the lowest mark (3.2),whereas Gjilan RIPH was rated with the highestgrade (4.3).Conclusion: Patients were generally satisfied withaccess to IPH. A problem, however, was the factthat patients did not know where to submit acompla<strong>in</strong>t, mostly <strong>in</strong> Prist<strong>in</strong>e and Ferizaj. Patientsevaluated the quality of health services with anaverage mark (3.7). Conversely, the courtesy of thestaff was rated with the highest grade (4.5) whereashygiene with the lowest grade (3.3).Keywords: evaluation, <strong>in</strong>stituteof publichealth, Kosovo, quality, satisfaction.62 ALBANIAN MEDICAL JOURNAL SUPPLEMENT
INTERNATIONAL PUBLIC HEALTH CONFERENCE IN TIRANA, ALBANIALeadership communication styles: A descriptiveanalysis of health care professionals lead<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong><strong>Albania</strong>n healthcare sett<strong>in</strong>gsAdriatik Gabrani 1 , Jonila Gabrani (Cyco) 2 , Elizana Petrela 1,31Department of Health Management, Faculty of Public Health, University of Medic<strong>in</strong>e, Tirana, <strong>Albania</strong>;2F<strong>in</strong>ance and Bank<strong>in</strong>g Department, <strong>Albania</strong>n University, Tirana, <strong>Albania</strong>;3Statistics Service, University Hospital Center Mother Teresa , Tirana, <strong>Albania</strong>.Context: The study of leadership <strong>in</strong> health care iscaptivat<strong>in</strong>g for many reasons. Health care leaders will<strong>in</strong>evitably have an impact on the lives of manypeople, as <strong>in</strong>dividuals rely on physicians and nursesdur<strong>in</strong>g some of the most critical moments <strong>in</strong> theirlives. Furthermore, cost constra<strong>in</strong>ts and <strong>in</strong>novationswith<strong>in</strong> organizational structure impose a greaterattention to leaders. A new leadership style is needed<strong>in</strong> which leaders engage staff, patients and partnerorganizations to improve patient care and healthsystem outcomes. There is a grow<strong>in</strong>g trend forleaders to break the old autocratic model ofleadership to newer models us<strong>in</strong>g the concepts ofshared and participatory leadership. Yet, sparseliterature exists on leadership traits orcommunication styles <strong>in</strong> <strong>Albania</strong>n healthcare sett<strong>in</strong>gs.Objective: To <strong>in</strong>vestigate and assess the leadershipstyles of leaders <strong>in</strong> health care sett<strong>in</strong>gs <strong>in</strong> <strong>Albania</strong>.Methods: Research is reported on open-endedquestionnaire from a large sample of leaders andmanagers (n=612) from a range of public healthcareorganizations. A style score was calculated and thenrelated to data on respondents biographical ageand gender. In order to compare the results, the samequestionnaire was adm<strong>in</strong>istered to the staff of thesett<strong>in</strong>g to evaluate their leaders communication style.Prelim<strong>in</strong>ary Results: Interest<strong>in</strong>g f<strong>in</strong>d<strong>in</strong>gs onleadership styles: accord<strong>in</strong>g to self-evaluation, leadersperception on their communication style resulted asdemocratic , compared to workers perceptions ontheir leaders as autocratic .Added value/Orig<strong>in</strong>ality: The relevant literatureshows that health workforce leadership is an underresearchedarea particularly <strong>in</strong> the public sector<strong>in</strong>stitutions with<strong>in</strong> health sector sett<strong>in</strong>gs. Thus, thecurrent <strong>in</strong>vestigation has contributed to improve theunderstand<strong>in</strong>g of leaders trait on this significantissue. Furthermore, the study f<strong>in</strong>d<strong>in</strong>gs are discussed<strong>in</strong> perspective of practical implications of healthmanagement system regard<strong>in</strong>g workforce issues,contra party perspectives. Overall, this studyprovides new support to previous <strong>in</strong>ternationalresearch (especially to eastern European countries)about leadership s communication style as a crucialdriver for organizational effectiveness andperformance.Keywords: communication, health care, leadership, organizational structure.ALBANIAN MEDICAL JOURNAL SUPPLEMENT63
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