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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Public Health
Sec. Infectious Diseases: Epidemiology and Prevention
Volume 12 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1454759

The Work Challenges Faced by Primary Healthcare Workers in Guangzhou During the COVID-19 Pandemic Prevention and Control Period of 2021-2022:A Qualitative Study

Provisionally accepted
Yuqing Jin Yuqing Jin 1Huiyao Feng Huiyao Feng 2*Qin Xiao Qin Xiao 1Fenglin Tian Fenglin Tian 1Huan Yao Huan Yao 1Runquan Zhang Runquan Zhang 1Qiqi Wu Qiqi Wu 1Haiyuan Zhu Haiyuan Zhu 1*Wanshan Zheng Wanshan Zheng 1Jin Chen Jin Chen 1*Tao Liu Tao Liu 1Wenjun Ma Wenjun Ma 1Xiaomei Dong Xiaomei Dong 1*Xiongfei Chen Xiongfei Chen 3*
  • 1 Jinan University, Guangzhou, China
  • 2 Development and Planning Department, Dongguan People's Hospital, Dongguan, China
  • 3 Department of Primary Public Health, Guangzhou Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Guangzhou, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Background: Since the outbreak of COVID-19, primary healthcare workers in China have played an irreplaceable and positive role in the work of epidemic prevention and control. Their hard work and selfless dedication are key factors in achieving effective control of the epidemic. However, the suddenness, uncertainty, and high transmissibility of the epidemic have brought unprecedented challenges to grassroots epidemic prevention work. This paper conducts an in-depth analysis of the work of primary healthcare workers in Guangzhou City during the period of COVID-19 2 epidemic prevention and control, revealing the main difficulties and challenges they face in epidemic prevention and control.Background:Primary healthcare workers in China were vital in controlling COVID-19, facing unprecedented challenges due to the pandemic's suddenness and transmissibility. This paper analyzed their work in Guangzhou, highlighting key difficulties in past epidemic control efforts.Methods: Qualitative interviews were conducted with pandemic prevention and control personnel at primary healthcare institutions in Guangzhou, utilizing a semi-structured interview outline to gather data on the challenges and difficulties encountered by primary healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.Interview recordings were transcribed into text, and grounded theory techniques were employed to extract significant information for coding. The derived codes were then inductively categorized and classified to establish themes.Methods:Semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with selected primary healthcare workers in Guangzhou City and audio-recorded until saturation of themes was reached. The data were analyzed independently for themes using NVivo V.12.Results: Thematic analysis of qualitative interview data revealed that challenges and difficulties encountered in grassroots epidemic prevention and control work during the COVID-19 pandemic were primarily categorized into seven dimensions: human resource allocation, material and vehicle support, epidemic prevention subsidies and compensation, humanistic care, upper-level management, horizontal collaboration, and resident cooperation.Based on the findings, the research team recommends that administrative departments and institutions related to primary healthcare should appropriately schedule personnel work and rest time, adjust work content flexibly, optimize the allocation of medical and logistical resources, and increase investment in primary healthcare work as well as staff protection.

    Keywords: COVID-19, Primary healthcare workers, work challenges, Qualitative survey, public health emergency management

    Received: 25 Jun 2024; Accepted: 14 Oct 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Jin, Feng, Xiao, Tian, Yao, Zhang, Wu, Zhu, Zheng, Chen, Liu, Ma, Dong and Chen. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Huiyao Feng, Development and Planning Department, Dongguan People's Hospital, Dongguan, China
    Haiyuan Zhu, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China
    Jin Chen, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China
    Xiaomei Dong, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China
    Xiongfei Chen, Department of Primary Public Health, Guangzhou Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Guangzhou, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.