Objective To investigate the current status of public health emergency response team building in disease prevention and control institutions in Shanghai city, analyze existing problems and their causes, and provide a reference for improving the construction of public health emergency response teams in these institutions.

Methods From March 22, 2023 to April 15, 2023, a questionnaire survey was conducted to collect data on the current status of public health emergency response team building in Shanghai city′s disease prevention and control institutions, as well as the basic information, professional skills, and emergency handling experience of team members. Data were statistically analyzed using Excel 2003 and SPSS 20.0 software.

Results A total of 1 956 questionnaires were collected, of which 1 921 were valid, yielding an effective rate of 98.21%. Shanghai city′s disease prevention and control institutions have established 12 regular emergency response teams (Comprehensive Coordination, Acute Communicable Disease Control, Chronic Communicable Disease Control, Vaccine-Preventable Disease Control, Disinfection and Vector Control, Radiation Event Response, Environmental Event Response, Foodborne Disease Control, Occupational Poisoning Control, Chemical Toxicity Testing, Pathogen Detection, and Logistics Support) and 2 reserve emergency response teams (Acute Communicable Disease Control Reserve and Health-Related Hazard Control Reserve). The average age of emergency responders was (36.82±9.05) years, with a male-to-female ratio of 1:1.90. The majority of team members held bachelor′s degrees (59.66%) and intermediate professional titles (41.12%). 50.34% of the team members had ≤5 years of experience in public health emergency response work. A relatively large number of personnel were familiar with public health-related specialties such as acute communicable disease prevention and control, comprehensive coordination, chronic non-communicable disease prevention and control, emergency management, microbial detection, environmental health, and food hygiene. However, fewer than 10% of personnel were familiar with radiation hygiene, parasitic disease prevention and control, child and adolescent health, immunization planning, and occupational health. Except for the number of individuals who participated in the COVID-19 response (>90%), the number of participants in other public health emergency responses was less than 45%, and the frequency of participation was mostly 1–5 times.

Conclusions Shanghai city′s disease prevention and control institutions have established relatively well-developed emergency response teams. However, there are problems such as an unbalanced team structure, a shortage of high-level and interdisciplinary professionals, and insufficient experience in emergency response. These institutions should establish a unified planning, coordinated management, and unified command working mechanism for public health emergency response teams. They should further strengthen the recruitment of high-level personnel, enhance the reserve of public health emergency personnel, optimize the composition of emergency response teams, conduct targeted emergency training and drills, and improve the overall quality of emergency response teams to ensure high-quality and sustainable development of public health emergency work.