Qi X, Wang Y, Xia L, Meng Y, Li Y, Yu S, Su X, Jin S, Li Y, Ge H, Zhang Y, Zhuang D, Ma J
National Centre for Public Health Surveillance and Information Services, Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, 102206, China.
State Key Laboratory of Resources and Environmental Information System, Institute of Geographical Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
Public Health. 2015 Nov;129(11):1459-64. doi: 10.1016/j.puhe.2015.03.002. Epub 2015 Apr 19.
To explore the current situation and issues related to the development of the public health informatics (PHI) workforce in provincial and prefectural centers for disease control and prevention (CDCs) in China, and to describe the corresponding strategies to address these issues for the future.
National cross-sectional study.
One thousand two hundred and eighty-one respondents were selected at random from provincial and prefectural CDCs. The survey used a self-administered, structured questionnaire with an online data collection tool that integrated data quality control and user management. The questionnaire was divided into seven main categories. Score percentage of satisfaction and proportion in each part were calculated. Descriptive statistics were used to analyse the data, stratifying by country region, CDC level, job role and educational level.
One hundred and sixty staff from provincial CDCs and 1121 staff from prefectural CDCs were selected. Only 7.4% (33/445) of prefectural CDCs were not involved in this survey, due to lack of PHI practitioners. CDC staff in the eastern region were predominantly aged 30-39 years (39.5%), which was much younger compared with the other regions (P = 0.0012). Only 34 respondents (2.7%) had academic majors in both health and information technology. More staff had Master's degrees and a higher level of education (18.7%) in the eastern region compared with the other regions (P < 0.0001). Staff in the eastern region in high-level positions and with a higher level of education were more knowledgeable about PHI strategy. Prefectural CDC staff were more satisfied with their work and training than provincial CDC staff. In the eastern region, 34.9% of staff were hired through competitive recruitment, and 57.8% of staff had received a job description with detailed information about their responsibilities, which was higher than in the other regions. Staff in the western region were more likely to leave if a better job became available (37.7%) compared with staff in the other regions (P = 0.0116).
This study found regional disparities in PHI workforce development, possibly related to disparities in overall regional development. Findings showed a severe shortage of staff with a background in PHI, and occupational development paths were clearly lacking. Based on this study of current workforce issues, a comprehensive strategy for PHI workforce development in China has been described.
探讨中国省、地级疾病预防控制中心（CDC）公共卫生信息学（PHI）工作人员队伍发展的现状与问题，并阐述未来解决这些问题的相应策略。
全国横断面研究。
从省、地级疾控中心随机选取1281名受访者。该调查采用自填式结构化问卷，并使用了集成数据质量控制和用户管理功能的在线数据收集工具。问卷分为七个主要类别。计算各部分的满意度得分百分比和比例。采用描述性统计方法对数据进行分析，并按国家地区、疾控中心级别、工作岗位和教育水平进行分层。
选取了省级疾控中心的160名工作人员和地级疾控中心的1121名工作人员。由于缺乏PHI从业人员，仅有7.4%（33/445）的地级疾控中心未参与此次调查。东部地区疾控中心工作人员以30 - 39岁为主（39.5%），与其他地区相比年龄要小得多（P = 0.0012）。仅有34名受访者（2.7%）拥有卫生和信息技术双专业背景。与其他地区相比，东部地区拥有硕士学位及更高教育水平的工作人员更多（18.7%）（P < 0.0001）。东部地区担任高级职位且教育水平较高得工作人员对PHI策略了解更多。地级疾控中心工作人员对工作和培训的满意度高于省级疾控中心工作人员。在东部地区，34.9%的工作人员通过竞争性招聘入职，57.8%的工作人员收到了包含详细职责信息的工作描述，这一比例高于其他地区。与其他地区的工作人员相比（P = 0.0116），西部地区的工作人员若有更好的工作机会则更有可能离职（37.7%）。
本研究发现PHI工作人员队伍发展存在地区差异，这可能与整体区域发展差异有关。研究结果显示，具备PHI背景的工作人员严重短缺，且明显缺乏职业发展路径。基于对当前工作人员队伍问题的研究，描述了中国PHI工作人员队伍发展的综合策略。
