Emergency preparedness knowledge and training needs among community volunteers in Shanghai, China, during the 2022 COVID-19 response: a cross-sectional questionnaire study

BackgroundCommunity volunteers support community-level emergency response, but in China they are typically mobilized on an ad hoc basis, without standardized entry requirements or systematic training. Their task-specific knowledge during actual public health emergencies has rarely been measured directly.ObjectiveThis study assessed emergency preparedness knowledge and its demographic and training-related correlates among community volunteers during the 2022 COVID-19 response in Shanghai, China.MethodsA cross-sectional survey of community volunteers in Songjiang District, Shanghai, was conducted in May 2022 using convenience sampling. Knowledge was measured with an 18-item scale across five domains: COVID-19 transmission, hand hygiene, personal protective equipment (PPE) use, disinfection, and medical waste disposal; the maximum score was 18 points. Groups were compared using t-tests and one-way ANOVA with Bonferroni correction; multivariable linear regression identified independent correlates of the knowledge score.ResultsOf 600 questionnaires distributed, 514 (85.67%) were analyzed after excluding 33 that were not returned and 53 that were incomplete. The mean knowledge score was 14.11 (SD 2.19) out of 18 points; item accuracy ranged from 30.54 to 99.81%, with eight of 18 items below the 75% mastery threshold. Accuracy was highest for medical waste disposal (94.70%) and lowest for PPE use (70.96%). Scores rose with educational attainment (P < 0.001) but not with age or training duration. Overall, 19.84% of volunteers received no training, and scores were higher with blended than with single-format training (mean 14.37 vs. 13.70–14.12; P = 0.049). Among trained volunteers, 49.39% considered training inadequate; the most requested topics were proper PPE use (77.63%) and infection control measures (60.51%). Multivariable regression (n = 485) confirmed educational attainment as the only independent correlate, with scores 1.1–1.9 points higher than in the group with a high school education or less (all P < 0.001); gender, age, and training duration were not independently associated with knowledge scores (all P ≥ 0.10).ConclusionsEmergency preparedness knowledge was uneven across domains: knowledge was adequate for medical waste disposal but below the mastery threshold for PPE use. About one-fifth of volunteers received no training. Educational attainment, not age or training duration, was the main independent correlate, and blended training was associated with higher scores. Education-stratified, hands-on training merits further study.