The Current Situation of the Building of Human Resources for Public Health in Beijing in the Context of Public Health Emergencies

Background The personnel building of public health is the key to improving the public health system and enhancing the emergency response capability of public health emergencies. Objective The study aims to analyse the status, advantages and deficiencies of human resources for public health in Beijing after public health emergencies. Then, the study put forward suggestions to optimise the construction of human resources for public health in Beijing. Methods The data on the sum of public health workforce, disaggregated by age, academic qualifications and job title, was collected from 2016 to 2021 Basic Information Survey on Manpower of Health Institutions in Beijing and the Compendium of Statistics on Community Health Work in Beijing. The data was collated between June and September in 2022 with the aims of analysing the sum, structure and configuration of human resources for professional and grassroots-level public health in Beijing in the context of public health emergencies. Results From 2019 to 2021, the sum of human resources for public health in Beijing's professional public health institutions increased from 15 157 to 16 048. Additionally, the percentage of those with postgraduate qualifications increased by 0.93 percent, while the percentage of those with senior and intermediate titles increased by 2.29 and 3.87 percent, respectively. The sum of human resources for public health at the grassroots level increased from 3 701 to 4 017. Among these, the percentage of those with bachelor's degree or above increased by 5.36 percent, while the percentage of those with senior and intermediate titles increased by 0.72 and 1.70 percent, respectively. And the ratio of CDC force per 10 000 population decreased from 1.68 to 1.57, the number of health personnel in professional public health institutions per 1 000 population increased from 0.70 to 0.73, the number of grassroots public health personnel per 10 000 population increased from 1.72 to 1.84. Conclusion After the public health emergency, the sum of human resources for public health has increased in Beijing, yet staffing gaps persist. The echelon of public health institutions has been reinforced, although the quality of human resources for public health in different institutions varies considerably. Furthermore, the structure of titles of human resources for public health is becoming more logical. It is recommended that public health staffing standards be clarified to fill the gap in human resources for public health. Furthermore, it is essential to enhance the training methodology for human resources for public health and elevate the calibre of them. Additionally, there is a need to refine the mechanism for ensuring the advancement of the human resources for public health, with the objective of attracting and retaining talent.