Prevention and control of COVID-19 by primary health care facilities in China: a field-survey-based qualitative study in three typical cities

BACKGROUND: During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) containment, primary health care (PHC) facilities inChina played an important role in providing both healthcare and public care services to community populations. The tasks of COVID-19 containment facilitated by PHC facilities were different among different regions and during different periods of COVID-19 pandemic. We sought to investigate the gaps on task participation, explore existing problems and provide corresponding solutions. METHODS: Semi-structured face-to-face interviews with COVID-19 prevention and control management teams of PHC facilities were conducted. Purposive stratified sampling was used and 32 team members of 22 PHC facilities were selected from Wuhan (as high-risk city), Shanghai (as medium-risk city) and Zunyi (as low-risk city). Framework analysis was employed to analyze the transcribed recordings. RESULTS: The main tasks of PHC facilities during the early period of the pandemic included assisting in contact tracing and epidemiological investigation, screening of populations at high-risk at travel centers/internals, house-by-house, or pre-examination/triage within PHC facilities; at-home/ centralized quarantine management; the work of fever sentinel clinics. Further analyses revealed the existing problems and suggestions for improvement or resolutions. Regular medical supply reserves were recommended because of the medical supply shortage during the pre-outbreak period. Temporarily converted quarantine wards and centralized quarantine centers could be used to deal with pressures on patients’ treatment and management of the febrile patients. Only after strict evaluation of nucleic acid testing (NAT) results and housing conditions, decision on quarantine at-home or centralized quarantine centers could be made. Settings of fever sentinel clinics at PHC facilities allowed fever patients with no COVID-19 infection risks for treatment without being transferred to fever clinics of the designed secondary hospitals. Psychological intervention was sometimes in need and really helped in addressing individuals’ mental pressures. CONCLUSIONS: During the COVID-19 containment, PHC facilities in China were responsible for different tasks and several problems were encountered in the working process. Accordingly, specific and feasible suggestions were put forward for different problems. Our findings are highly beneficial for healthcare teams and governments in handling similar situations. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12913-022-07770-4.