Research methodologies for creating competency frameworks for the public health workforce: a scoping review

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Workforce Development
• Competency Frameworks

Background:

• Competency frameworks are essential for defining Public Health Workforce (PHW) capabilities, education, and standards.
• Existing frameworks for the PHW exhibit considerable variation in their methodologies for defining competencies and domains.
• This scoping review examines the methodologies used in developing multi-professional PHW frameworks published between 2018 and 2024.

Purpose of the Study:

• To map and analyze the methodologies employed in the development of multi-professional Public Health Workforce competency frameworks.
• To identify common practices, patterns, and reporting gaps in the creation of these frameworks.
• To provide insights for improving the consistency and rigor of future framework development.

Main Methods:

• Conducted a scoping review following Joanna Briggs Institute guidance and PRISMA-ScR checklist.
• Searched key databases (Medline, Embase, Global Health, WorldCat) for frameworks published between 2018-2024.
• Utilized dual screening and extraction to capture framework characteristics and sequential development methods, followed by descriptive analysis.

Main Results:

• 58 multi-professional PHW frameworks were included, primarily from North America and Europe.
• Commonly reported methods included literature reviews (45.4%), surveys (29.5%), and expert consultations (22.7%).
• Most frameworks (82.6%) used multi-step processes, but 24.1% had significant reporting gaps, indicating variable quality.

Conclusions:

• The development of Public Health Workforce competency frameworks is characterized by diverse, multi-step processes but is hampered by reporting inconsistencies.
• Standardization and enhanced transparency in reporting are vital for improving the quality and comparability of frameworks.
• Adopting multi-method approaches that integrate evidence synthesis, stakeholder engagement, and validation is recommended to strengthen the global PHW.