ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE To analyze the traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) emergency management policy texts in China, reveal the characteristics, problems and improvement directions of Chinese medicine emergency management policies in China, and provide references and lessons for improving the level of Chinese medicine emergency management. METHODS Twenty-four TCM emergency management policy texts issued at the central level from 2016 to 2023 were coded and analyzed using Nvivo11 software to construct a three-dimensional analysis framework based on policy tools, stakeholders and policy strength. RESULTS In the policy tools dimension, the environmental type was the most (46.74%), the supply type was the second (31.80%), and the demand type was the least (21.46%); in the stakeholder dimension, there were more healthcare institutions (40.63%) and government departments (31.25%), and fewer healthcare workers (14.84%) and residents (13.28%); in the policy strength dimension, the overall policy strength was poor, and the differences in effectiveness across policy instruments and stakeholders were more significant. The cross-cutting results showed that there was a certain degree of mismatch in policy instruments, stakeholders and policy strength. CONCLUSIONS The use of supply-oriented policy tools is slightly lacking, and the use of policy tools should be optimized in a coordinated manner; the distribution of stakeholders is relatively unbalanced, and synergies among stakeholders should be enhanced; the overall strength of policies is poor, and the top-level design of relevant policies should be improved.