Development and Validation of the WHO Rehabilitation Competency Framework: A Mixed Methods Study

Area of Science:

• Rehabilitation Science
• Health Workforce Development
• Professional Competencies

Background:

• The rehabilitation workforce is diverse, spanning multiple professions, specializations, and global settings.
• A unified understanding of essential competencies, behaviors, values, and beliefs is crucial for effective rehabilitation practice and workforce development.
• Existing competency frameworks may lack comprehensive validation across diverse professional groups and service user perspectives.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify and validate core values, beliefs, competencies, behaviors, activities, and tasks for the global rehabilitation workforce.
• To establish a comprehensive Rehabilitation Competency Framework through consensus among rehabilitation professionals and service users.

Main Methods:

• A mixed-methods approach was employed, integrating content analysis of existing competency frameworks.
• A modified Delphi study involving rehabilitation professionals (N=77, 47% and N=68, 67% completion rates across iterations).
• A consultation-based questionnaire with service users (N=37) and desk-based research in various global settings.

Main Results:

• The Rehabilitation Competency Framework includes 4 core values, 4 core beliefs, 17 competencies, 56 behaviors, 20 activities, and 62 tasks.
• Content analysis yielded an initial list of statements categorized into 5 domains.
• High consensus was achieved: 95% agreement in the Delphi study and 87% agreement from service user consultations.

Conclusions:

• A strong consensus exists on shared competencies and behaviors across the diverse rehabilitation workforce.
• The developed framework captures the scope of rehabilitation practice and promotes a common professional identity.
• This framework is pivotal for enhancing workforce capability, improving care quality, and increasing the profession's systems-level influence.