Correspondence: Guoqing Hu, Department of Epidemiology and Health Statistics, School of Public Health, Central South University, 110 Xiangya Road, Changsha City, Hunan Province 410078 86-731-4805466, China. E-mail: huguoqing110@xysm.net

Abstract

To gather information that would assist China's central government and local governments in public health emergency management, we conducted focus groups to identify current problems. In three provinces, selected to reflect differing economic and social status, we met with two groups each, composed of public health officials and practitioners. Sampling to achieve a mix and for convenience, we followed a guide to cover five topics. Eleven common problems emerged. China's central government and local governments should take immediate action to solve these remaining problems in public health emergency management.