Use of the WHO Rehabilitation Competency Framework to guide a collaborative approach to rehabilitation workforce development

Recent research from the Physiopedia team on behalf of ReLAB-HS has mapped rehabilitation profession-specific competencies to the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Rehabilitation Competency Framework (RCF), revealing important alignments and gaps that could inform more efficient and collaborative approaches to rehabilitation workforce development.

It is now well established that rehabilitation is a critical health strategy but, despite the demand for rehabilitation services, there remains a substantial shortage in the rehabilitation workforce. This is particularly evident in low and middle-income countries (LMICs), where only a fraction of individuals in need can access services. The rehabilitation workforce is diverse, with multiple professions and specialisations that collectively meet populations’ needs. The WHO identifies 8 core professions that offer rehabilitation services: audiology, occupational therapy, rehabilitation specialists in medicine, clinical psychology, physiotherapy, prosthetics and orthotics, rehabilitation nursing and speech and language therapy. Each rehabilitation profession has developed its own international or national framework to guide the training, assessment and professional development of practitioners. Although diversity in the rehabilitation workforce is necessary and valuable, it can present a particular challenge to lower-resourced countries and settings attempting to educate, regulate and sustain a diverse workforce with varied expectations.

To address this challenge, the WHO developed the Rehabilitation Competency Framework (RCF) to act as a reference tool for creating contextually based competencies for the rehabilitation professions. By identifying core competencies across the rehabilitation professions, the RCF provides a blueprint for ensuring rehabilitation professionals have the competencies to deliver quality care across the scope of rehabilitation. The RCF was developed with an interprofessional perspective and, therefore, it can also serve as a framework to compare competencies across the professions. Identifying shared competencies can inform innovative learning models to drive workforce development by combining the potential of interprofessional collaborations – and potentially maximise the use of limited resources to support the education of rehabilitation professionals and assist in meeting workforce needs in LMICs.

A recent study published in the Archives of Rehabilitation Research and Clinical Translation sought to systematically map the unique entry-level competencies of the rehabilitation professions to the RCF to identify commonalities and gaps across professions. The research by Physiopedia’s Nicole Beamish, Shala Cunningham, Cheryl Footer and Rachael Lowe on behalf of RELAB-HS entailed online research of the competence frameworks of the 8 core professions, which were then mapped to the RCF domains.

The professional documents demonstrated a strong alignment with the competencies outlined in the RCF activities. The practice and professionalism domains showed the greatest congruence with profession-specific competencies, whereas the learning and development, management and leadership and research domains had varying levels of alignment. This consistency in mapping may be attributed to the profession-specific competencies’ focus on the fundamental entry-level knowledge, skills, values and abilities essential for delivering safe and effective patient care. The mapping exercise revealed that competencies in the profession-specific frameworks primarily focused on individual-level skills for effective patient care rather than societal-level impact, such as acting as rehabilitation advocates.

The study provides valuable insights into the alignment between profession-specific competencies among the rehabilitation professions. Identifying commonalities and gaps can facilitate the development of shared educational resources for foundational support across diverse rehabilitation disciplines. This effort can contribute to building a robust and unified rehabilitation workforce capable of meeting the emerging health needs of diverse populations worldwide.

Physiopedia Plus is a subscription site that offers internationally accredited continuing education and professional development opportunities for the global rehabilitation community in 6 languages.

Your subscription fees fund the Physiopedia charity website to keep it updated and openly accessible to all.

Your subscription also provides FREE access to Plus for rehabilitation professionals in low income countries.

There are also discounts available depending on where you live and for students.