Abstract:

Objective This study aimed to understand current situation of human resourses and allocation fairness of Tuberculosis Prevention and Cure Institutions (TPCIs) in counties (districts) of Hunan Province, and provide the basis for optimizing the allocation of human resources.Methods A total of 128 TPCIs in 128 counties (districts) were investigated by a combination of census and spot check. According to Hunan Provincial Statistical Yearbook (2017), the counties (districts) of Hunan Province were divided into 77 (60.1%) non-poverty counties (districts) and 51 (39.8%) poverty counties (districts). Then, based on Comprehensive Questionnaire of Hunan Provincial Service System of Tuberculosis Prevention and Cure reported in June 2018 and Report Forms of Hunan Provincial Information Management System of Tuberculosis Prevention and Cure in 2017, relevant information of staff in TPCIs was collected, and human resources allocation of TPCIs in counties (districts) of Hunan Province was invesgated and analyzed.Results Among the 128 surveyed counties (districts), 71 (55.5%) TPCIs lacked organizations, including 44 (62.0%) non-poverty counties (districts) and 27 (38.0%) poverty counties (districts); 89 (69.5%) TPCIs had independent tuberculosis prevention and control departments, and 10 (7.8%) TPCIs attained the required standards in human resources allocation. In total, 579 staffs in TPCIs were investigated in this study, including 304 males (52.5%) and 275 females (47.5%); the age distribution mainly ranged from 30 to 50 years old, with a total of 373 (64.4%) staffs; the academic qualifications were mainly undergraduate (212, 36.6%) and specialist (277, 47.8%); the professional titles were mainly intermediate (227, 39.2%) and junior (250, 43.2%); there were 506 (87.4%) regular employees and 419 (72.4%) full-time staffs; and 25.4% (147/579) staffs engaged in tuberculosis prevention and cure for less than 2 years. The per capita service population of staffs of TPCIs in counties (districts) of the province was 118 000, the radius of per capita service area was 10.8 km, and per capita patients were 86. The Gini coefficients of the service population, regional radius and number of tuberculosis patients of staffs of TPCIs in counties (districts) of the province were 0.34, 0.29 and 0.36, respectively.Conclusion The human resources allocation of TPCIs in counties (districts) of Hunan Province is moderately equitable. However, there is a lack of the manpower and high-level talents, and most of the staff have short working period and heavy workload.

Key words: Tuberculosis, Health systems agencies, Health manpower, Data interpretation, statistical, Evaluation studies, Small-area analysis