The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention System in China: Trends From 2002-2012

• Published in: American journal of public health (1971) 2016-12, Vol.106 (12), p.2093-2102
• Main Authors: Li, Chengyue, Sun, Mei, Wang, Ying, Luo, Li, Yu, Mingzhu, Zhang, Yu, Wang, Hua, Shi, Peiwu, Chen, Zheng, Wang, Jian, Lu, Yueliang, Li, Qi, Wang, Xinhua, Bi, Zhenqiang, Fan, Ming, Fu, Liping, Yu, Jingjin, Hao, Mo
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: AJPH Special Section; China; Communicable Disease Control - trends; Cross-Sectional Studies; Data collection; Disease control; Disease prevention; Epidemics; Epidemiology; Expenditures; Funding; Government Agencies - organization & administration; Health care policy; Health Policy; Health services; Health surveillance; Humans; Injury/Emergency Care/Violence; Investigations; Other Health Service Delivery; Preventive Medicine - trends; Public health; Public Health Practice; Questionnaires; Reforms; Resource Allocation - organization & administration; Sample size; Studies; Surveillance; Surveys and Questionnaires; Trends
• ISSN: 0090-0036; 1541-0048
• DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.2016.303508

To assess the improvements of the Chinese Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDCs) system between 2002 and 2012, and problems the system has encountered. We obtained data from 2 national cross-sectional surveys in 2006 and 2013, including 32 provincial, 139 municipal, and 489 county-level CDCs throughout China. We performed a pre-post comparative analysis to determine trends in resource allocation and service delivery. The overall completeness of public health services significantly increased from 47.4% to 76.6%. Furthermore, the proportion of CDC staff with bachelor's or higher degrees increased from 14.6% to 32.6%, and governmental funding per CDC increased 5.3-fold (1.283-8.098 million yuan). The working area per CDC staff increased from 37.9 square meters to 63.3 square meters, and configuration rate of type A devices increased from 28.1% to 65.0%. Remaining problems included an 11.9% reduction in staff and the fact that financial investments covered only 71.1% of actual expenditures. China's CDC system has progressed remarkably, enabling quicker responses to emergent epidemics. Future challenges include establishing a sustainable financing mechanism and retaining a well-educated, adequately sized public health workforce.