The institutional effect on public health: an Albanian survey analysisErmir Shahini and Ermira KalajThe institutional effect on public health

The public health sector is affected by various factors that contribute to or inhibit its effectiveness. Successful public policy in health care must address such challenges as employment, income, facilities and equipment, as well as medical staff training and improvement. The research on which this article is based analyses the link between media, democracy, corruption, labour migration and the public health care system in Albania through analysis of data from the World Bank, Heritage Foundation and the IMF, as well as primary data, and using both quantitative and qualitative techniques. Our conclusions show that the public health care system in Albania is negatively affected by corruption. The media and democracy both have a positive impact on public health care, while the export of professionals to other countries has a negative effect on the health care system. Albania is one of the poorest economies in Europe and the health care system needs major reform in order to eliminate corruption and reduce the outwards migration of professional workers.