Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2025 Jun 18:13:1600566.
doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1600566. eCollection 2025.

Exploring the impact of public health-related academic competitions on the competencies of university students: evidence from Anhui Province

Qiancheng Zhou  1 , Shengyan Hu  2 , Chenxi Nian  3
Affiliations

Exploring the impact of public health-related academic competitions on the competencies of university students: evidence from Anhui Province

Qiancheng Zhou et al. Front Public Health. .

Abstract

Background: Since the outbreak of COVID-19 in 2019, public health emergencies have garnered widespread attention, leading to an increasing emphasis in academia on cultivating high-quality public health professionals. In the context of digital transformation, public health competitions have emerged as an innovative educational approach for developing multifaceted public health talent.

Methods: This study examines the current state of university students' participation in public health competitions in Anhui Province, employing a mixed-methods approach that combines qualitative and quantitative analyses, including SWOT and PEST models, Pearson correlation analysis, cross-tabulation analysis, and regression analysis, to assess the impact of public health competitions on students' abilities.

Results: Firstly, the overall environment for students' participation in public health discipline competitions is favorable, with more advantages than disadvantages and more opportunities than challenges. Secondly, the main reason why college students are willing to participate in these competitions is the job - hunting advantages they offer, while the primary reason for not participating is a lack of self - confidence. Thirdly, competitions have a significant effect on enhancing college students' comprehensive abilities, particularly in areas such as psychological coordination ability and the ability to learn medical knowledge and skills. Finally, the frequency of participation, the relevance between teaching and competition, and the enthusiasm for participation have a significant impact on the effectiveness of the competitions.

Conclusion: Based on these findings, this paper offers corresponding recommendations to further improve the effectiveness of public health competitions, aiming to provide theoretical guidance for their promotion and optimization, thereby advancing the innovation and development of public health education.

Keywords: academic competitions; competencies of university students; education innovation; public health; public health education.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Research framework diagram.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Location map of Anhui Province.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Grade information statistics.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Professional information statistics diagram.
Figure 5
Figure 5
SWOT and PEST model diagram.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Reasons for university students to participate in the competition.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Reasons why college students did not participate in the discipline competition.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Bandura A. Health promotion by social cognitive means. Health Educ Behav. (2004) 31:143–64. doi: 10.1177/1090198104263660, PMID: - DOI - PubMed
    1. Ford ES. Prevalence of the metabolic syndrome among US adults-findings from the third national health and nutrition examination survey. Jama-J American Medical Association. (2002) 287:356–9. doi: 10.1001/jama.287.3.356 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Goodman R. The strengths and difficulties questionnaire: a research note. J Child Psychol Psychiatry Allied Discip. (1997) 38:581–6. - PubMed
    1. Livingston G, Huntley J, Sommerlad A, Ames D, Ballard C, Banerjee S, et al. Dementia prevention, intervention, and care: 2020 report of the lancet commission. Lancet. (2020) 396:413–46. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(20)30367-6, PMID: - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. O'Grady NP, Alexander M, Dellinger EP, Gerberding JL, Heard SO, Maki DG, et al. Guidelines for the prevention of intravascular catheter-related infections. Clin Infect Dis. (2002) 35:1281–307. doi: 10.1086/344188 - DOI

LinkOut - more resources