An autoethnographic exploration of addiction in Albania: a country in transition

This thesis sets out to describe, critique, and gather insights from a selection of my outputs in the public domain that will help my own practice as a frontline doctor in addiction in a teaching hospital in Tirana, Albania. The selected works were created in the medical field, in a country in transition. Their focus is on the field of addiction explored through the historical and contemporary influences on myself as a physician; on my colleagues; on training of young medics for the future; the nature and source of the rise in addiction among the young; the current challenges of transition of our health service from a pure science and applied approach to one that seeks to complement the scientific approach with a stronger understanding and empathy for the human contexts in which many Albanians live; the rapid change of Albanian society from a closed society for several decades to one that has, relatively writing, burst into the interconnected, globalized 21st century with little preparation. I have chosen analytical autoethnography as a lens through which to critique the works as this recognizes the agency and experience of the researcher practitioner and the contribution that such an approach can make to theoretical and practice knowledge and to health and other social issues. Therefore, I contextualize policies and treatment, social and medical issues and share my insights for Albania and beyond in the hope that other countries in transition may benefit. I conclude with how the insights will feed into my next public works.