Abstract:

Using the questionnaires of national tuberculosis (TB) laboratory investigation designed by the TB Reference Laboratory of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (China CDC) in 2009, the information related to the human resources, laboratory equipment and conducted pathogenic examination projects in Beijing municipal and district (or county) level TB prevention and control institutions (referred to as “TB institutions”) in 2010, 2015 and 2018 were collected, compared and analyzed. A total of 55 copies of questionnaires were sent out and all of them were returned, the effective response rate to the questionnaires was 100.0%. In 2010, 2015 and 2018, the human resource situation in the laboratories of Beijing TB institutions was as follows: (1) gender: the ratio of male to female was 1∶2.8 (16/44), 1∶3.4 (15/51), 1∶2.4 (23/55) respectively; (2) proportion of staff members who had been working for more than 5 years was 73.3% (44/60), 65.2% (43/66) and 69.2% (54/78) respectively; (3) professional title: the proportion of staff member who had primary professional title was the highest in each year, which was 56.7% (34/60), 62.1% (41/66) and 51.3% (40/78) respectively; (4) proportion of full time staff: it accounted for 78.3% (47/60), 74.2% (49/66) and 88.5% (69/78) respectively. In 2010, all the laboratories of TB institutions in Beijing were equipped with biosafety cabinets, and all the laboratories of TB institutions could perform acid-fast bacillus smear and culture examinations, and the municipal TB institute could carry out drug susceptibility test; in 2015, the municipal TB institute had the ability of molecular biology clinical diagnosis; in 2018, all levels of TB institutes in Beijing vigorously developed molecular biology diagnosis technology, the coverage rate of GeneXpert MTB/RIF test reached 100% (19/19). So the current human resource situation at all levels of TB laboratories in Beijing is that, there has been a slow increase in the number of staff number, the proportion of senior staff members with middle or high level professional titles is low, and the proportion of full-time staff members is high. The equipment configuration and the pathogenic examination projects at all levels of TB laboratories in Beijing can meet the requirements of national TB program.

Key words: Tuberculosis, Laboratories, Health care facilities, Manpower and services, Questionnaires, Data interpretation,statistical