ReviewFrontiers in public health2025
Health promotion challenges and opportunities in the Western Balkans: a review of contemporary policies and actions.
Review in Frontiers in public health, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
10 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background: Countries in the Western Balkans (WBCs) fall behind the European Union in implementing effective health promotion. This study explores the key components of national health promotion policies and action plans in Albania, Federation of BiH, and the Republic of Srpska, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia, with the aim of describing key action trends, gaps, and challenges, and recommendations for health promotion implementation improvement. Methods: Within the framework of the "Western Balkan Strategic Partnership for Health Protection" (WASP) project, implemented in five WBCs on behalf of the Global Health Protection Programme (GHPP), 2023-2025, and using the" Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion" a descriptive observational study was employed, combining data and information provided from the desk review of national legal frameworks, country-specific reports and consultative meetings to describe health promotion policies and action plans implementation in the period from 2010 to 2022. Results: WBCs highlight diverse national priorities, such as promoting education and healthy lifestyles (e.g., Albania, Serbia, Federation of BiH, and the Republic of Srpska), addressing health inequalities (e.g., Federation of BiH, and the Republic of Srpska, Serbia), and digital health systems. The strategies and action plans of WBCs have common health promotion goals, and challenges. Community engagement and enforcement of public health policies are insufficient. Preventive care services are notably underdeveloped in rural areas with inadequate healthcare infrastructure. Although legal frameworks show that there is commitment to health promotion, putting action plans into practice is still a challenge, especially when it comes to involving communities and focusing on prevention. Budget transparency and working together across the region could also be improved to better tackle health inequalities and build stronger health systems. Conclusion: While WBCs demonstrate growing political commitment to health promotion, substantial gaps remain in translating strategies into sustainable action. Strengthening intersectoral collaboration, improving monitoring systems, securing stable financing, and expanding community participation are crucial for advancing equitable, prevention-oriented health systems across the region.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.