PHWR Public Health Weekly Report

Objectives: This study was conducted to investigate the current status of infectious disease response personnel and organizations in local governments within the Seoul metropolitan area (Seoul, Gyeonggi, Incheon, and Gangwon). This survey was designed to foster development of infectious disease prevention and management plans and to strengthen response capabilities. Herein, we present the results of a survey on infectious disease response capabilities at local government levels including city, county, and district levels within the metropolitan area, that are facing unique administrative and physical challenges following the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic.
Methods: We conducted a survey using 42 detailed indicators and targeting infectious disease response personnel belonging to infectious disease response units in city, county, and district governments to investigate their infectious disease response capacities.
Results: Infectious disease management in local governments within the metropolitan area operates under a “team” structure, subordinate to “department” in over 50% of cases. More than 50% of the infectious disease response department staff were either full-time or dedicated. Significant differences were identified between the local governments within the region regarding the composition of city, county, and district infectious disease patient transfer councils and the proportions of professional civil servants and physicians responding to infectious diseases.
Conclusions: Local government infectious disease team leaders are expected to play significant roles in maintaining and managing infectious disease response capabilities. Furthermore, policies are required to reduce the differences between regions, local governments within a region, and indicators with high coefficients of variation. Ongoing investigations into infectious disease response capabilities are necessary. The data reported herein can serve as a foundation for policy development.

Objectives: This study aimed to analyze the operational outcomes and evaluate the effectiveness of a newly implemented joint public-private infection control simulation training program. This initiative was designed to strengthen the collaborative capacity between healthcare facilities and local governments to effectively respond to healthcare-associated infection outbreaks.
Methods: The simulation training involved 10 sessions, with a total of 422 participants, comprising 263 healthcare personnel and 159 local government officials. Scenarios and manuals were developed to reflect the domestic healthcare environment. Evaluation methods included quantitative pre- and post-training surveys and qualitative assessments from an operational workshop. Statistical analyses employed paired t-tests and, where appropriate, the Wilcoxon test.
Results: All 422 participants completed the simulation training. Post-training assessments indicated statistically significant improvements in participants' knowledge, which increased from 10.0 (±1.4) to 10.5 (±1.0); perception competency, which increased from 4.5 (±0.5) to 4.7 (±0.4); and performance competency, which increased from 3.4 (±0.8) to 4.0 (±0.7). The overall satisfaction rate averaged 4.7 points. Qualitative workshop assessments confirmed that facilitators played a crucial role in moderating discussions, enhancing situational comprehension, and guiding problem-solving.
Conclusions: The simulation training, facilitated by skilled moderators, significantly enhanced participants' knowledge, perception, and performance competencies. Based on these findings, future improvements should focus on refining scenarios to better delineate the roles of local governments, diversifying courses to address practical needs, and enhancing the operational systems for facilitators.