Satisfaction with talent cultivation, evaluation, and incentive mechanisms among staff at China′s provincial, municipal, and county-level CDCs: an online survey

Objective To understand the satisfaction and suggestions of center for disease control and prevention (CDC) personnel at the provincial, city, and county levels in China regarding current talent cultivation, evaluation, and incentive mechanisms, and to provide a basis for optimizing existing policies and strengthening personnel development in a targeted manner.

Methods In November 2024, a convenient sampling and snowball sampling method was adopted to conduct an online survey of 3 626 in-service personnel from provincial, city, and county CDCs in 28 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities) in China via Questionnaire Star. A 5-point Likert scale was used to score satisfaction.

Results Of the 3 626 participants, 46.9%, 64.5%, and 35.9% reported that their units had established talent cultivation, evaluation, and incentive mechanisms, respectively. The satisfaction scores for the current talent cultivation, evaluation, and incentive mechanisms were 69.8%, 67.9%, and 71.0%, respectively. Higher satisfaction scores were observed in county (district) level CDCs (70.1%, 68.7%, 71.5%), those with a college degree or below (70.8%, 69.4%, 72.4%), those with less than 10 years of work experience (70.5%, 68.6%, 71.5%), and junior or awaiting appointment personnel (71.3%, 69.8%, 72.6%). Lower satisfaction scores were found in provincial CDCs (68.3%, 64.9%, 67.5%), those with postgraduate degrees (69.0%, 66.2%, 69.1%), and those with 30 or more years of work experience (66.9%, 66.0%, 69.6%). The central region had the highest satisfaction scores for talent cultivation (70.1%) and evaluation mechanisms (68.2%), while the western region had the highest satisfaction score for incentive mechanisms (71.2%). 35.9%, 22.8%, and 26.6% of the participants provided suggestions on talent cultivation, evaluation, and incentives, respectively.

Conclusions Some CDCs urgently need to establish talent cultivation, evaluation, and incentive mechanisms, while those that have already established such mechanisms need to optimize and improve them based on the needs and suggestions of their employees.