Abstract
BackgroundChina has increasingly emerged as an important player in global health. However, compared to developed countries, China still lacks a sufficient health workforce for global health engagement with the necessary competencies required. The world has recognized that to solve global health issues, the role of China needs to be strengthened. The priorities for the deployment of the Chinese workforce in global health remain unclear. This study aims to identify the priorities of the deployment of Chinese global health workforce by exploring the core competencies for Chinese global health workforce, factors influencing the deployment and the approach of deployment.MethodsQuantitative descriptive statistical analysis was applied to analyze the quantitative data. A total of 148 key respondents from 10 provinces in China conducting global health projects over the last 3 years were selected as the study subjects. A structured questionnaire was developed to collect the data on four aspects, including general information, core competencies, factors influencing deployment, and mode of deployment. The questionnaire was distributed to the respondents through an online survey. All original data were exported to Microsoft Excel 2010 to calculate the frequencies and percentages of each option. A descriptive analysis was carried out of the priorities of deployment of the Chinese global health workforce.ResultsMore than half of the respondents (51.4%, 76/148) regarded “communication” as the most important competency of the Chinese global health workforce, while a large proportion of participants from Chinese embassies (50.0%, 6/12) and international organizations (75.0%, 12/16) believed that “professional skills” were paramount. In addition, 58.1% (86/148) of the participants agreed that incentive factors (salary, professional position, etc.) were the main factors that influenced deployment, whereas 75% (12/16) of participants from international organizations emphasized “security” as the most important determinant. In addition, 60.8% (90/148) of the participants thought that the deployment of staff should be based on the needs of the global health project implementation.ConclusionsThis study highlights the deployment priorities of the Chinese global health workforce, including strengthening communication and professional skills, focusing on personal security and incentives, and catering to the project implementation. This study also highlights the importance of Chinese agencies in developing global health mindsets through global health practices and proactive integration within the global community.
Highlights
China has increasingly emerged as an important player in global health
This study aims to identify the priorities for the deployment of Chinese global health workforce by analyzing the (i) preferred core competencies for deployment; (ii) factors influencing deployment and (iii) preferred mode of deployment
The selection criteria were as follows: (i) in Chinese domestic administrative agencies, 3–4 staff members engaged in international cooperation were selected; (ii) in Chinese professional institutes, 1–2 relevant leaders and 2–3 key members were selected from each institute involved in the global health program; (iii) in the Chinese embassies in Africa where the corresponding medical teams were located, 1–2 relevant counselors from each embassy were selected; (iv) in Chinese medical teams in Africa, 1–2 team leaders and 2–3 core members were selected from each team; (v) in international organizations, 3–4 project leaders and participants were selected from each institute
Summary
Compared to developed countries, China still lacks a sufficient health workforce for global health engagement with the necessary competencies required. China has committed to providing assistance through existing channels such as the Forum on ChinaAfrica Cooperation (FOCAC), and the China International Development Cooperation Agency (CIDCA) was established to support a greater Chinese role in global health [4]. China has been working with the African Union and other international partners to support the establishment of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) [5]. All these highlight the importance and necessity of health workforce for global health initiatives of China
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