Objective  To systematically evaluate the public health knowledge awareness and training needs of members of the village (community) public health committees in Pudong New Area,Shanghai, thereby providing a basis for strengthening the capacity building of primary-level public health teams.

Methods A cross-sectional survey was conducted online via the Questionnaire Star platform from July to August 2024, covering 5 365 committee members from 1 525 villages (communities) in Pudong New Area. The questionnaire included basic information and public health knowledge in three dimensions: prevention and control of common diseases, healthy lifestyles and behaviors, and knowledge and skills of disinfection and protection. Data were analyzed by χ² tests and multivariate logistic regression.

Results The overall awareness rate of public health knowledge among the participants was 54.71%, and the awareness rate in the dimension of disinfection and personal protection was the lowest (45.41%). Different genders, ages, educational backgrounds, job categories, regions, number of participation times in epidemiological investigations during the COVID-19 pandemic, and training needs all affected public health knowledge scores (all P < 0.05). Multivariate analysis showed that females (OR = 1.215, 95%CI: 1.078–1.369), those with a bachelor′s degree or above (OR = 1.305, 95%CI: 1.063–1.603), family doctors (OR = 2.022, 95%CI: 1.698–2.407), residents in urban fringe areas (OR = 1.202, 95%CI: 1.034–1.398), and those who underwent more than 10 epidemiological investigations (OR = 1.469, 95%CI: 1.238–1.743) had significantly better knowledge awareness. The awareness rates of those over 55 years old (OR = 0.674, 95%CI: 0.524–0.868), those in remote rural areas (OR = 0.82, 95%CI: 0.675–0.996), and those without training willingness (OR=0.682, 95%CI: 0.572–0.814) were lower. Training needs analysis revealed that the most demanded topics were infectious disease prevention and control (70.89%) and disinfection and protection skills (70.61%), with preferred training methods being on-site lectures (60.09%) and practical operations (54.63%).

Conclusions Currently, the public health committees in Pudong New Area have established a multi-collaborative organizational framework. However, the committee members still need improvements in overall public health knowledge awareness, particularly in practical skills such as disinfection and protection.