Background: Investment to meet the man power requirements are recognized as urgent; especially to efficiently implement the National Strategy of Preventive Medicine. To strengthen the capability of provincial preventive medicine centers, the Ministry of Health has approved Decision No 05/2006QD-BYT for functions, tasks, authorization and organizational structure of Provincial Preventive Medicine Centers (PPMCs). Objectives: The study was conducted to evaluate the manpower and organization structure of northern PPMCs and provide recommendations for policy makers. Subjects and method: Using the cross-sectional descriptive method, the study covered the preventive medicine centers of 29 northern provinces between Jan to Jun 2007. The information was collected by interviews and self-reported questionnaires. Results:23/29 PPMCs have not met the criteria of man power stated in the Circular 08/2007/TTLB-BYT-BNV. Only 9/29 PPMCs were well organized in accordance with Decision 05/2006/QD-BYT of the Ministry of Health. The average number of staffs in PPMCs was 50+15. Medical staffs accounted for 53%, out of which 21.1% had postgraduate degrees; 32.2% had graduate degrees and 23.3% had been trained in preventive care. Conclusion: To meet the requirements provided by the Decision No05/2006QD-BYT, the man power and training for staffs in PPMCs should be improved and strengthened.
Man power ; Preventive medicine.