Estimates of the global workforce required for providing assistive technology: a modeling study

Despite being a fundamental human right, access to assistive products varies between 3% and 90% across countries. Ensuring adequate and trained human resources is a prerequisite for improving access to assistive products. To support workforce planning and development, this study estimated the global workforce required for assistive technology provision to achieve a high level of access.

This modeling study used estimates of the primary workforce for assistive technology provision and assistive product needs in a country with a high level of access and global assistive product needs, to predict the global workforce required to provide assistive technology in five product domains: cognition and communication, hearing, mobility and self-care, orthotics and prosthetics, and vision. The assistive product need estimates were based on self-reported data from WHO Rapid Assistive Technology Assessment surveys in 28 countries.

A total workforce for assistive technology provision of 4.4 (95% CI: 3.0-6.8) million full-time equivalents (FTE) would be required globally to achieve a high level of access to assistive products. Excluding the administrative workforce, this includes a workforce of 3.4 (2.3-5.4) million FTE, composed of 1.7 (1.3-2.2) million FTE providing mobility and self-care products, 0.9 (0.5-1.7) million FTE providing orthoses and prostheses, 0.5 (0.2-1.0) million FTE providing vision products, 0.3 (0.2-0.4) million FTE providing hearing products, and 0.05 (0.04-0.06) million FTE providing cognition and communication products.

Likely a conservative estimate of the required workforce size, this provides a cautious foundation for informing strategies to develop a workforce capable of meeting global assistive product needs and improving access.