Establishment and operation of rabies post-exposure prophylaxis clinics in Guangdong province: an online survey

Objective To examine the establishment and operation of rabies post-exposure prophylaxis clinics in Guangdong province for standard construction of the clinics.

Methods An online survey was conducted among all rabies post-exposure prophylaxis clinics in various medical institutions across Guangdong province during December 2021 – March 2022; the information on the clinics′ general status, apparatuses and personnel allocation, operation and management were collected using a unified questionnaire.

Results Totally 1 184 clinics were surveyed, of which, 17.7% were set up in public or private medical institutions of secondary level and above, 11.5% in community health centers, 68.3% in township hospitals, and 2.5% in other medical facilities. Four functional areas were divided in 88.1% of the clinics for wound treatment, vaccination, observation, and adverse events treatment. More than 80% of the clinics were equipped with code scanning equipment, medical refrigerator and first aid drugs (adrenalin, dexamethasone), and the proportion of clinics equipped with rinsing equipment was less than or equal to 62%. The median number of vaccinators and surgeons were 8 and 2 for all the clinics surveyed. More than 80% of the clinics were able to publicize the exposure treatment norms and other contents, but only 49.7% and 56.8% of the clinics were able to publicize the compensation policies and relevant laws and regulations for adverse event following immunization, respectively. The proportions of the clinics being able to provide passive immunization and tetanus vaccination service were 47.6% and 52.6%, respectively. There were statistically significant differences in functional area arrangement, equipment allocation, personnel allocation, service and management among the clinics in various medical institutions (P < 0.05 for all) and the clinics in public or private medical institutions of secondary level and above had better operational conditions than the clinic in township hospitals or community health centers.

Conclusion The standardized construction of rabies post-exposure prophylaxis clinics, especially the grass-roots clinics, needs to be strengthened in Guangdong province.