Nursing education in Albania and global trends: Systematic review of clinical competence and health literacy
Keywords:
nursing education, albania, health literacy, clinical competence, e-learning in healthcare, comparative study, systematic reviewAbstract
Background and aim: Nursing education is essential for preparing skilled health professionals capable of addressing public health challenges effectively. In Albania, aligning with international standards has brought significant changes to the nursing education system, yet challenges persist due to limited resources and the demand for diversified competencies. Comparing Albania's nursing education system with international experiences can provide valuable insights for enhancing its quality. This review examines the evolution of nursing education in Albania by comparing educational models and practices with international frameworks to identify strategies for improving nursing education in the Albanian context.
Methods: A systematic review was conducted using major databases, covering the period from 2014 to 2024. Peer-reviewed studies in English and Albanian focusing on educational models, professional skills, and nursing education in Albania or globally were included. Study quality was assessed using the CASP criteria.
Results: Seven studies were selected, highlighting critical aspects of nursing education, including health literacy, professional self-efficacy, clinical skills, guideline adoption, and e-learning programs. Findings indicate that effective nursing education should integrate health literacy to enhance patient communication, leverage online learning to address geographical disparities, and diversify clinical experiences to prepare nurses for complex healthcare environments.
Conclusions: This review underscores the importance of evidence-based educational frameworks and standardized guidelines for advancing nursing education in Albania. The adoption of international strategies, such as incorporating health literacy and e-learning, can enhance educational outcomes, improve the quality of care, and foster a more resilient healthcare system capable of meeting population needs.
References
1. Osunlaja O, Enahoro A, Maha CC, Kolawole TO, Abdul S. Healthcare management education and training: preparing the next generation of leaders-a review. Int J Appl Res Soc Sci. 2024;6:1178-1192. doi: 10.51594/ijarss.v6i6.1209.
2. World Health Organization. Operational framework for primary health care: transforming vision into action. 2020.
3. Baker C, Cary AH, da Conceicao Bento M. Global standards for professional nursing education: the time is now. J Prof Nurs. 2021;37(1):86-92. doi: 10.1016/j.profnurs.2020.10.001.
4. King R, Taylor B, Talpur A, et al. Factors that optimise the impact of continuing professional development in nursing: a rapid evidence review. Nurse Educ Today. 2021;98:104652. doi: 10.1016/j.nedt.2020.104652.
5. Gunawan J. Exploring the future of nursing: insights from the ChatGPT model. Belitung Nurs J. 2023;9(1):1-5. doi: 10.33546/bnj.2551.
6. Jarva E, Mikkonen K, Tuomikoski AM, et al. Healthcare professionals' competence in stroke care pathways: a mixed-methods systematic review. J Clin Nurs. 2021;30(9-10):1206-1235. doi: 10.1111/jocn.15612.
7. Ortega-Lapiedra R, Barrado-Narvión MJ, Bernués-Oliván J. Acquisition of competencies of nurses: improving the performance of the healthcare system. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2023;20(5):4510. doi: 10.3390/ijerph20054510.
8. De Raeve P, Davidson PM, Bergs J, et al. Advanced practice nursing in Europe-results from a pan-European survey of 35 countries. J Adv Nurs. 2024;80(1):377-386. doi: 10.1111/jan.15775.
9. Barjaba J, Barjaba K. Albania: education and employment reforms linking professional education and labor market. In: Res Policymak Innov Teach Educ Dev Belt Road Countries. Singapore: Springer Nature; 2023:343-361.
10. Adebayo A, Akinyemi OO. What are you really doing in this country?: emigration intentions of Nigerian doctors and their policy implications for human resource for health management. J Int Migr Integr. 2022;23(3):1377-1396. doi: 10.1007/s12134-021-00898-y.
11. Elendu C, Amaechi DC, Okatta AU, et al. The impact of simulation-based training in medical education: a review. Medicine (Baltimore). 2024;103(27):e38813. doi: 10.1097/MD.0000000000038813.
12. Alowais SA, Alghamdi SS, Alsuhebany N, et al. Revolutionizing healthcare: the role of artificial intelligence in clinical practice. BMC Med Educ. 2023;23(1):689. doi: 10.1186/s12909-023-04698-z.
13. Pedregosa S, Fabrellas N, Risco E, et al. Effective academic-practice partnership models in nursing students' clinical placement: a systematic literature review. Nurse Educ Today. 2020;95:104582. doi: 10.1016/j.nedt.2020.104582.
14. Agu CF, Stewart J, McFarlane-Stewart N, Rae T. COVID-19 pandemic effects on nursing education: looking through the lens of a developing country. Int Nurs Rev. 2021;68(2):153-158. doi: 10.1111/inr.12663.
15. Kara PA, Ognjanovic I, Hölscher D, et al. Human-centric digitization in Montenegro: progress through 17 years of national independence and future trends. Electronics (Basel). 2024;13:2460.
16. Van Merode F, Groot W, Somers M. Slack is needed to solve the shortage of nurses. Healthcare (Basel). 2024;12(2):220. doi: 10.3390/healthcare12020220.
17. Hossain KA. Evaluation of technological breakthrough in global education and future employment opportunity. J Liberal Arts Humanit. 2023;4:1-62.
18. Sota J. Contribution to the general history of school health service in Albania (from origins to nowadays). Inter-Disciplinary J Res Dev. 2022;9:13.
19. Elhakim M, Hammoud SD, Gmach S, et al. Learning interventions in the WHO Eastern Mediterranean region: supporting member states to get prepared for better response to health emergencies in the region. Front Public Health. 2024;12:1441223. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1441223.
20. Toews AJ, Martin DE, Chernomas WM. Clinical debriefing: a concept analysis. J Clin Nurs. 2021;30(11-12):1491-1501. doi: 10.1111/jocn.15636.
21. Podgorica N, Pjetri E, Müller MA, Perkhofer S. Difficulties and challenges experienced by nurses in eldercare institutions in Albania: a qualitative content analysis. PLoS One. 2024;19(3):e0300774. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0300774.
22. Kotsani M, Ellul J, Bahat G, et al. Start low, go slow, but look far: the case of geriatric medicine in Balkan countries. Eur Geriatr Med. 2020;11(5):869-878. doi: 10.1007/s41999-020-00350-x.
23. Barjaktarovic D, Vukotic G, Lekovic Z. Nursing education in developing countries: challenges and opportunities. Int J Nurs Educ. 2019;11:45-56. doi: 10.1016/j.ijned.2019.03.002.
24. Manxhuka-Kërliu S, Beqiri D, Shehu S. Current status and future challenges of nursing education in Albania. Albanian J Health Sci. 2022;14:112-118. doi: 10.1016/j.ajhs.2022.01.012.
25. Sotiri A. A comparative study on the effectiveness of clinical training in nursing programs: Albanian perspective. Eur Nurs Res. 2021;8:78-85. doi: 10.1016/j.enres.2021.06.008.
26. World Health Organization. State of the world’s nursing 2020: investing in education, jobs and leadership. 2020.
27. Bulfone G, Bressan V, Zerilli I, et al. Nursing students’ health literacy skills: a scoping review protocol for driving research. BMJ Open. 2024;14:e075682. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2023-075682.
28. Dowling M, Shewbridge A, Ryan C, et al. Development and implementation of an online education program on advanced breast cancer for European cancer nurses: ABC4Nurses project: a brief report. J Cancer Educ. 2023;38:1662-1666. doi: 10.1007/s13187-023-02319-3.
29. Duka B, Stievano A, Prendi E, et al. An observational cross-sectional study on the correlation between professional competencies and self-efficacy in Albanian registered nurses. Healthcare (Basel). 2023;11:2156. doi: 10.3390/healthcare11152156.
30. Notarnicola I, Ivziku D, Tartaglini D, et al. Self-perceived clinical competence of nurses in different working experiences: a cross-sectional study. Healthcare (Basel). 2023;11:2808. doi: 10.3390/healthcare11212808.
31. Merry L, Bilkis V, Verville-Provencher K. Challenges, coping responses and supportive interventions for international and migrant students in academic nursing programs in major host countries: a scoping review with a gender lens. BMC Nurs. 2021;20:1-37. doi: 10.1186/s12912-021-00678-0.
32. Phillip M, Achenbach P, Addala A, et al. Consensus guidance for monitoring individuals with islet autoantibody-positive pre-stage 3 type 1 diabetes. Diabetologia. 2024;67:1731-1759. doi: 10.1007/s00125-024-06205-5.
33. Roehe MA, Trost C, Grundnig JS, et al. Evaluating the dynamics of learning approaches: a systematic review investigating the nexus between teaching methods and academic performance in medical and dental education. Educ Psychol Rev. 2024;36:118. doi: 10.1007/s10648-024-09952-4.
34. Heine M, Lategan F, Erasmus M, et al. Health education interventions to promote health literacy in adults with selected non-communicable diseases living in low-to-middle income countries: a systematic review and meta-analysis. J Eval Clin Pract. 2021;27:1417-1428. doi: 10.1111/jep.13554
35. Fox S, Kramer E, Agrawal P, Aniyizhai A. Refugee and migrant health literacy interventions in high-income countries: a systematic review. J Immigr Minor Health. 2021;1-30. doi: 10.1007/s10903-021-01152-4.
36. Yan W, Li M, Luo L, Ju X, Jamieson L, Liu F. Oral health literacy and its associated factors among nurses: a cross-sectional study. J Clin Nurs. 2023;32:5056-5064. doi: 10.1111/jocn.16750
37. Yang K, Hu Y, Qi H. Digital health literacy: bibliometric analysis. J Med Internet Res. 2022;24:e35816. doi: 10.2196/35816
38. Moutsopoulos HM. Passion for excellence: my lifelong journey into medicine and public service. In: Chair of Internal Medicine, Ioannina University Medical School. Cham: Springer International Publishing; 2022:87-138.
39. Nguyen CH, Nhan TT, Ta HTT, et al. Joint-training programs in Vietnam: operation and quality management aspects gathered from institutional practices. Asia Pac Educ Rev. 2021;22:333-347. doi: 10.1007/s12564-021-09672-2
40. Gagné M, Parker SK, Griffin MA, et al. Understanding and shaping the future of work with self-determination theory. Nat Rev Psychol. 2022;1:378-392. doi: 10.1038/s44159-022-00056-w
41. García-Lázaro I, Colás-Bravo MP, Conde-Jiménez J. The impact of perceived self-efficacy and satisfaction on preservice teachers’ well-being during the practicum experience. Sustainability. 2022;14:10185. doi: 10.3390/su141610185
42. Benner P. Excellence and power in clinical nursing practice. J Res Nurs. 1984;8:95. doi: 10.1097/00000446-198412000-00025
43. Baxter C, Schofield R, Currie G, et al. Community health nurses leadership in advancing health equity. Public Health Nurs. 2024;41:310-317. doi: 10.1111/phn.13286.
44. Haverila MJ, Haverila K, McLaughlin C. Variables affecting the retention intentions of students in higher education institutions: a comparison between international and domestic students. J Int Students. 2020;10:358-382. doi: 10.32674/jis.v10i2.1849
45. Orangi S, Orangi T, Kabubei KM, et al. Understanding factors influencing the use of clinical guidelines in low-income and middle-income settings: a scoping review. BMJ Open. 2023;13:e070399. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2022-070399
46. Challa KT, Sayed A, Acharya Y. Modern techniques of teaching and learning in medical education: a descriptive literature review. MedEdPublish. 2021;10. doi: 10.15694/mep.2021.000018.1
47. Hu J, Peng Y, Chen X. Decoding contextual factors differentiating adolescents’ high, average, and low digital reading performance through machine-learning methods. IEEE Trans Learn Technol. 2023;16:516-527. doi: 10.1109/TLT.2023.3281056
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Alketa Dervishi, Alma Imami, Valbona Bezhani, Etleva Kika, Dhurata Ivziku, Ippolito Notarnicola, Flora Zyberaj
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0) which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Transfer of Copyright and Permission to Reproduce Parts of Published Papers.
Authors retain the copyright for their published work. No formal permission will be required to reproduce parts (tables or illustrations) of published papers, provided the source is quoted appropriately and reproduction has no commercial intent. Reproductions with commercial intent will require written permission and payment of royalties.
How to Cite
