The medical education level of the administrators of the local health committees in China

The outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by the recently emerged severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) poses a serious challenge for the healthcare system worldwide. We collected information, which were posted online as of February 25, 2020, on demographic characteristics of the directors of provincial and municipal health committees in China, and analyzed the education level and medical education background according to geographic region or GPD per capita . We found that the overall information disclosure rate is insufficient (63.39%). The mean age of the directors of provincial and municipal health committee was ~54 years. Among the 277 officials whose information is available, those in economically less-developed regions or remote areas had significantly poorer educational background. Regardless of economic status, the proportion of officials with a background of medical education in most regions was low. This might hinder the efficiency of healthcare and public health administration, which requires personnel with a background of medical training. ### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest. ### Funding Statement This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (91539125, 81573146) and the Junior Thousand Talents Program of China. ### Author Declarations I confirm all relevant ethical guidelines have been followed, and any necessary IRB and/or ethics committee approvals have been obtained. Yes The details of the IRB/oversight body that provided approval or exemption for the research described are given below: The data were collected from the internet and the information were publicly available. No ethical approval was required. All necessary patient/participant consent has been obtained and the appropriate institutional forms have been archived. Yes I understand that all clinical trials and any other prospective interventional studies must be registered with an ICMJE-approved registry, such as ClinicalTrials.gov. I confirm that any such study reported in the manuscript has been registered and the trial registration ID is provided (note: if posting a prospective study registered retrospectively, please provide a statement in the trial ID field explaining why the study was not registered in advance). Yes I have followed all appropriate research reporting guidelines and uploaded the relevant EQUATOR Network research reporting checklist(s) and other pertinent material as supplementary files, if applicable. Yes The data are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.