Investigation and analysis of the construction of newborn screening institutions and talent teams in China

To assess the institutional development and human resources of newborn screening in China in the new era, with the aim of promoting nationwide program development.

Data on the number, area, organizational model, year of screening initiation, staffing composition, and training status of newborn screening centers across provinces from 2017 to 2021 were collected and analyzed for regional comparison.

Newborn screening centers were present in all provinces. Organizational models were primarily provincial-centered, city-centered, or joint provincial-city-centered. Screening modalities mainly included basic screening for inherited metabolic diseases and screening by tandem mass spectrometry. The primary target conditions were congenital hypothyroidism, phenylketonuria, congenital adrenal hyperplasia, and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency. Screening was initiated earliest in the eastern region, and the outpatient and laboratory areas of screening institutions there were larger than those in other regions. The professional ranks of physicians, nurses, and laboratory technicians engaged in newborn screening were mainly at the intermediate level, and their educational attainment was predominantly at the undergraduate level. Overall, nurses held lower professional ranks and had lower educational levels compared with physicians. Training participation rates for physicians, nurses, and laboratory technicians were 82.83%, 72.41%, and 86.31%, respectively; training qualification rates were 95.38%, 88.89%, and 96.29%, respectively.

Further optimization of organizational models is needed to consolidate the institutional foundation of newborn screening and to improve the educational attainment and professional ranks of physicians, nurses, and laboratory technicians. Particularly in the central and western regions, ongoing efforts are needed to continuously improve training qualification rates. Maintaining stable development of newborn screening nationwide and balancing development among eastern, central, and western regions remain key priorities.