Deployment of workforce in global health: what should be the priorities for China?

BACKGROUND: China has increasingly emerged as an important player in global health. However, compared to developed countries, China still lacks a sufficient health workforce for global health engagement with the necessary competencies required. The world has recognized that to solve global health issues, the role of China needs to be strengthened. The priorities for the deployment of the Chinese workforce in global health remain unclear. This study aims to identify the priorities of the deployment of Chinese global health workforce by exploring the core competencies for Chinese global health workforce, factors influencing the deployment and the approach of deployment. METHODS: Quantitative descriptive statistical analysis was applied to analyze the quantitative data. A total of 148 key respondents from 10 provinces in China conducting global health projects over the last 3 years were selected as the study subjects. A structured questionnaire was developed to collect the data on four aspects, including general information, core competencies, factors influencing deployment, and mode of deployment. The questionnaire was distributed to the respondents through an online survey. All original data were exported to Microsoft Excel 2010 to calculate the frequencies and percentages of each option. A descriptive analysis was carried out of the priorities of deployment of the Chinese global health workforce. RESULTS: More than half of the respondents (51.4%, 76/148) regarded “communication” as the most important competency of the Chinese global health workforce, while a large proportion of participants from Chinese embassies (50.0%, 6/12) and international organizations (75.0%, 12/16) believed that “professional skills” were paramount. In addition, 58.1% (86/148) of the participants agreed that incentive factors (salary, professional position, etc.) were the main factors that influenced deployment, whereas 75% (12/16) of participants from international organizations emphasized “security” as the most important determinant. In addition, 60.8% (90/148) of the participants thought that the deployment of staff should be based on the needs of the global health project implementation. CONCLUSIONS: This study highlights the deployment priorities of the Chinese global health workforce, including strengthening communication and professional skills, focusing on personal security and incentives, and catering to the project implementation. This study also highlights the importance of Chinese agencies in developing global health mindsets through global health practices and proactive integration within the global community. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s41256-021-00208-0.