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. 2017 Jun 4;14(6):597.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph14060597.

Identifying Factors Associated with Risk Assessment Competencies of Public Health Emergency Responders

Jiejing Hao  1 , Jiaojiao Ren  2 , Qunhong Wu  3   4 , Yanhua Hao  5   6 , Hong Sun  7 , Ning Ning  8   9 , Ding Ding  10
Affiliations

Identifying Factors Associated with Risk Assessment Competencies of Public Health Emergency Responders

Jiejing Hao et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

This study aimed to better understand the current situation of risk assessment and identify the factors associated with competence of emergency responders in public health risk assessment. The participants were selected by a multi-stage, stratified cluster sampling method in Heilongjiang Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The questionnaires that measured their perceptions on risk assessment competences were administered through the face-to-face survey. A final sample of 1889 staff was obtained. Of this sample, 78.6% of respondents rated their own risk assessment competences as "relatively low", contrasting with 21.4% rated as "relatively high". Most of the respondents (62.7%) did not participate in any risk assessment work. Only 13.7% and 42.7% of respondents reported participating in risk assessment training and were familiar with risk assessment tools. There existed statistical significance between risk assessment-related characteristics of respondents and their self-rated competences scores. Financial support from the government and administrative attention were regarded as the important factors contributing to risk assessment competences of CDC responders. Higher attention should be given to risk assessment training and enhancing the availability of surveillance data. Continuous efforts should be made to remove the financial and technical obstacles to improve the competences of risk assessment for public health emergency responders.

Keywords: Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC); public health emergency; risk assessment.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The proportion of different public health risks assessed by respondents (%).
Figure 2
Figure 2
The proportion of respondents’ familiarity with risk assessment tools (%).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Importance scores of perceived factors associated with risk assessment competencies.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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