Difficulties encountered by public health workers in COVID-19 outbreak: a cross-sectional study based on five provinces

Abstract Objectives The aim of this study is to address the difficulties encountered by public health workers in the early and middle stages of their efforts to combat COVID-19, compare the gaps among different types of institutions, and identify shortcomings in epidemic control. Methods Using multi...

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Main Authors: Zhicheng Du, Hua You, Huan Zhou, Xiaohui Wang, Jingdong Xu, Yan Li, Shan Li, Lina Ma, Jing Gu, Yuantao Hao
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMC 2021-07-01
Series:BMC Health Services Research
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-021-06699-4
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spelling doaj-8929b8bdef714d629dd67fe51c310b552021-07-11T11:09:31ZengBMCBMC Health Services Research1472-69632021-07-012111910.1186/s12913-021-06699-4Difficulties encountered by public health workers in COVID-19 outbreak: a cross-sectional study based on five provincesZhicheng Du0Hua You1Huan Zhou2Xiaohui Wang3Jingdong Xu4Yan Li5Shan Li6Lina Ma7Jing Gu8Yuantao Hao9School of Public Health, Global Health Institute, Key Laboratory of Tropical Disease Control, Sun Yat-sen UniversitySchool of Public Health, Nanjing Medical UniversityWest China School of Public Health, West China Fourth Hospital, Sichuan UniversitySchool of Public Health, Lanzhou UniversityHubei Provincial Center for Disease Control and PreventionGuangzhou Center for Disease Control and PreventionZigong Center for Disease Control and PreventionHubei Provincial Center for Disease Control and PreventionSchool of Public Health, Global Health Institute, Key Laboratory of Tropical Disease Control, Sun Yat-sen UniversitySchool of Public Health, Global Health Institute, Key Laboratory of Tropical Disease Control, Sun Yat-sen UniversityAbstract Objectives The aim of this study is to address the difficulties encountered by public health workers in the early and middle stages of their efforts to combat COVID-19, compare the gaps among different types of institutions, and identify shortcomings in epidemic control. Methods Using multi-stage sampling, a survey of public health workers involved in the prevention and control of COVID-19 was conducted from 18 February to 1 March 2020 through a self-administered questionnaire. These public health workers were from the primary health care center (defined as “primary-urban” and “primary-rural” for those in urban and rural areas, respectively) and the center for disease control and prevention (defined as “non-primary”) in five provinces including Hubei, Guangdong, Sichuan, Jiangsu and Gansu, China. Results A total of 9,475 public health workers were surveyed, of which 40.0 %, 27.0 % and 33.0 % were from the primary-rural, primary-urban and non-primary, respectively. The resources shortage were reported by 27.9 % participants, with the primary-rural being the worst affected (OR = 1.201, 95 %CI: 1.073–1.345). The difficulties in data processing were reported by 31.5 % participants, with no significant differences among institutions. The difficulties in communication and coordination were reported by 29.8 % participants, with the non-primary being the most serious (primary-rural: OR = 0.520, 95 %CI: 0.446–0.606; primary-urban: OR = 0.533, 95 %CI: 0.454–0.625). The difficulties with target audiences were reported by 20.2 % participants, with the primary-urban being the worst (OR = 1.368, 95 %CI: 1.199–1.560). The psychological distress were reported by 48.8 % participants, with no significant differences among institutions. Conclusions Psychological distress is the most serious problem in the prevention and control of COVID-19. Resources shortage in primary-rural, difficulties in communication and coordination in non-primary, and difficulties with target audiences in the primary-urban deserve attention. This study will provide scientific evidences for improving the national public health emergency management system, especially for reducing the urban-rural differences in emergency response capacity.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-021-06699-4Public health workersDifficultiesCOVID-19
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Zhicheng Du
Hua You
Huan Zhou
Xiaohui Wang
Jingdong Xu
Yan Li
Shan Li
Lina Ma
Jing Gu
Yuantao Hao
spellingShingle Zhicheng Du
Hua You
Huan Zhou
Xiaohui Wang
Jingdong Xu
Yan Li
Shan Li
Lina Ma
Jing Gu
Yuantao Hao
Difficulties encountered by public health workers in COVID-19 outbreak: a cross-sectional study based on five provinces
BMC Health Services Research
Public health workers
Difficulties
COVID-19
author_facet Zhicheng Du
Hua You
Huan Zhou
Xiaohui Wang
Jingdong Xu
Yan Li
Shan Li
Lina Ma
Jing Gu
Yuantao Hao
author_sort Zhicheng Du
title Difficulties encountered by public health workers in COVID-19 outbreak: a cross-sectional study based on five provinces
title_short Difficulties encountered by public health workers in COVID-19 outbreak: a cross-sectional study based on five provinces
title_full Difficulties encountered by public health workers in COVID-19 outbreak: a cross-sectional study based on five provinces
title_fullStr Difficulties encountered by public health workers in COVID-19 outbreak: a cross-sectional study based on five provinces
title_full_unstemmed Difficulties encountered by public health workers in COVID-19 outbreak: a cross-sectional study based on five provinces
title_sort difficulties encountered by public health workers in covid-19 outbreak: a cross-sectional study based on five provinces
publisher BMC
series BMC Health Services Research
issn 1472-6963
publishDate 2021-07-01
description Abstract Objectives The aim of this study is to address the difficulties encountered by public health workers in the early and middle stages of their efforts to combat COVID-19, compare the gaps among different types of institutions, and identify shortcomings in epidemic control. Methods Using multi-stage sampling, a survey of public health workers involved in the prevention and control of COVID-19 was conducted from 18 February to 1 March 2020 through a self-administered questionnaire. These public health workers were from the primary health care center (defined as “primary-urban” and “primary-rural” for those in urban and rural areas, respectively) and the center for disease control and prevention (defined as “non-primary”) in five provinces including Hubei, Guangdong, Sichuan, Jiangsu and Gansu, China. Results A total of 9,475 public health workers were surveyed, of which 40.0 %, 27.0 % and 33.0 % were from the primary-rural, primary-urban and non-primary, respectively. The resources shortage were reported by 27.9 % participants, with the primary-rural being the worst affected (OR = 1.201, 95 %CI: 1.073–1.345). The difficulties in data processing were reported by 31.5 % participants, with no significant differences among institutions. The difficulties in communication and coordination were reported by 29.8 % participants, with the non-primary being the most serious (primary-rural: OR = 0.520, 95 %CI: 0.446–0.606; primary-urban: OR = 0.533, 95 %CI: 0.454–0.625). The difficulties with target audiences were reported by 20.2 % participants, with the primary-urban being the worst (OR = 1.368, 95 %CI: 1.199–1.560). The psychological distress were reported by 48.8 % participants, with no significant differences among institutions. Conclusions Psychological distress is the most serious problem in the prevention and control of COVID-19. Resources shortage in primary-rural, difficulties in communication and coordination in non-primary, and difficulties with target audiences in the primary-urban deserve attention. This study will provide scientific evidences for improving the national public health emergency management system, especially for reducing the urban-rural differences in emergency response capacity.
topic Public health workers
Difficulties
COVID-19
url https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-021-06699-4
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