Albanian Health Promotion Model: a health perspective for Western Balkan countries.

This article presents the Albanian Health Promotion Model (AHPM), a mixed-blended framework adapted for Western Balkan countries that integrates elements from the Icelandic Model of Health Promotion, the World Health Organization's health-promoting schools framework, and the whole school approach. The AHPM emphasizes multi-sectoral involvement, including schoolchildren, families, community and religious leaders, teachers, government bodies, the private sector, and non-governmental organizations, to create supportive environments for health promotion. Piloted in Albania through the Schools for Health project, the model targets prevention of non-communicable diseases by fostering healthy behaviors among children and their communities via education, training, and community engagement. The AHPM aims to contextualize effective health promotion strategies for non-Nordic cultures and vulnerable populations, with potential applicability across similar regional contexts.