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in Albania - Instituti i Shendetit Publik

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INTERNATIONAL PUBLIC HEALTH CONFERENCE IN TIRANA, ALBANIA<strong>Albania</strong>n Medical Journal: A modest endeavor forstimulat<strong>in</strong>g research and a culture of scientificcommunication <strong>in</strong> the most isolated formercommunist country <strong>in</strong> EuropeGenc Burazeri 1-31Faculty of Public Heath, University of Medic<strong>in</strong>e, Tirana, <strong>Albania</strong>;2Institute of Public Health, Tirana, <strong>Albania</strong>;3Department of International Health, School for Public Health and Primary Care (CAPHRI),Faculty of Health, Medic<strong>in</strong>e and Life Sciences, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands.In post-communist <strong>Albania</strong>, there is no sufficientresearch directed towards ga<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g a clearunderstand<strong>in</strong>g of the health effects of transition andthe fluctuations <strong>in</strong> health outcomes. A generalcharacteristic which I have previously described <strong>in</strong>the scientific literature (Burazeri et al. 2009) relatesto the problems faced by <strong>Albania</strong>n scientists forengag<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> research work which basically <strong>in</strong>cludethe follow<strong>in</strong>g features: lack of funds, lack of expertiseand, lack of good data .As a matter of fact, the current (<strong>in</strong>ternational) publichealth conference <strong>in</strong> Tirana (May 6-7, 2013) is aperfect venue for dissem<strong>in</strong>ation and communicationof research f<strong>in</strong>d<strong>in</strong>gs pert<strong>in</strong>ent to surveys and otherresearch work conducted <strong>in</strong> <strong>Albania</strong> and othercountries <strong>in</strong> the Western Balkans such as, e.g.,Demographic and Health Surveys which <strong>in</strong>volvealso a detailed assessment of a wide array oflifestyle/behavioral characteristics and pre-exist<strong>in</strong>gchronic conditions <strong>in</strong> nationwide representativesamples of adult populations.There is an obvious case for action to change thestate of m<strong>in</strong>d and the scientific paradigm ofmedical scientists and public health researchers <strong>in</strong><strong>Albania</strong> <strong>in</strong> terms of rais<strong>in</strong>g their awareness aboutthe press<strong>in</strong>g need to present their research f<strong>in</strong>d<strong>in</strong>gs<strong>in</strong> <strong>in</strong>ternational conferences and subsequently publishfull-length papers <strong>in</strong> scientific journals <strong>in</strong> the Englishlanguage. This is the only means for ensur<strong>in</strong>g anadequate and prompt communication and exchangeof the scientific <strong>in</strong>formation with the peers, scientificgroups and research community at large.The only way for a small country such as <strong>Albania</strong>to cope with the current publication scant<strong>in</strong>ess is to<strong>in</strong>troduce and follow the best <strong>in</strong>ternational scientificpr<strong>in</strong>ciples and quality criteria of research methods,and <strong>in</strong>crease gradually the critical mass of competentresearchers.A lbanian Medical Journal aims to fill this void byprovid<strong>in</strong>g a modest yet important sett<strong>in</strong>g forpublication of research f<strong>in</strong>d<strong>in</strong>gs from studiesconducted not only <strong>in</strong> <strong>Albania</strong>, but also <strong>in</strong> othercountries of the Western Balkans and beyond.Keywords: A lbanian Medical Journal, medical literature, research, Western Balkans.ALBANIAN MEDICAL JOURNAL SUPPLEMENT9

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