title: Bridging the gap between education and practice in public health, with particular reference to less-developed provinces in China.
abstract: Ongoing healthcare system reform is one of the most important issues in China. There is an increasing awareness that public health education should be reformed to meet the demands of public health practice. This paper summarizes the current status of increasing public healthcare demand and public health service capacity in China, especially in less-developed provinces, and introduces the current public health educational system and public health administration structure. The paper also provides evidence for a considerable gap between public health education and practice, and suggests possible measures to bridge the gap.
authors.affiliation: Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, China. Electronic address: weibogx@163.com.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health, Kunming Medical College, Kunming, China; Centre for Disease Control and Prevention of Yunnan Province, Kunming, Yunnan, China.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health, Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, China.
authors.forename: Z Y
authors.initials: ZY
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health, Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, China.
authors.forename: Z Y
authors.initials: ZY
authors.lastname: Ma
mesh_terms: D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D003479:Curriculum; D040381:Education, Public Health Professional; D018166:Health Care Reform; D006291:Health Policy; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006801:Humans; D015980:Public Health Practice; D012423:Rural Health