Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33245940›Full record

ArticleArchives of physical medicine and rehabilitation2021

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

Jody-Anne Mills, Alarcos Cieza, Stephanie D Short, James W Middleton

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitation, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 27 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
27citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

27 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Review
  3. Transitioning Towards Quality-of-Care Assessment in Orthotics and Prosthetics Practice.Archives of rehabilitation research and clinical translation · 2026
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  5. Neurological management of ischemic stroke in sickle cell disease- a case report with an updated review of the literature.Neurological sciences : official journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology · 2025
    Review
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  18. The Global Status of Occupational Therapy Workforce Research Worldwide: A Scoping Review.The American journal of occupational therapy : official publication of the American Occupational Therapy Association · 2023
    Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Jody-Anne MillsDepartment of Noncommunicable Disease, World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland; John Walsh Centre for Rehabilitation Research, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia. Electronic address: millsj@who.int.
Alarcos CiezaDepartment of Noncommunicable Disease, World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland.
Stephanie D ShortWHO Collaborating Centre for Strengthening Rehabilitation Capacity in Health Systems, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.
James W MiddletonJohn Walsh Centre for Rehabilitation Research, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesTo identify the competencies, behaviors, activities, and tasks required by the rehabilitation workforce, and their core values and beliefs, and to validate these among rehabilitation professionals and service users.

designMixed methods study, involving a content analysis of rehabilitation-related competency frameworks, a modified Delphi study, and a consultation-based questionnaire of service users.

settingDesk-based research.

participantsParticipants who completed the first (N=77; 47%) and second (N=68; 67%) iterations of the modified Delphi study. Thirty-seven individuals participated in the service user consultation. Collectively, the participants of the mixed methods study represented a significant range of rehabilitation professions from a broad range of countries, as well as both high- and low-income settings.

interventionsNot applicable.

main outcome measuresNot applicable.

resultsThe mixed methods study resulted in the inclusion of 4 core values, 4 core beliefs, 17 competencies, 56 behaviors, 20 activities, and 62 tasks in the Rehabilitation Competency Framework. The content analysis of rehabilitation-related competency frameworks produced an alpha list of competencies, behaviors, activities and tasks ("statements"), which were categorized into 5 domains. The final iteration of the modified Delphi study revealed an average of 95% agreement with the statements, whereas the service user consultation indicated an average of 87% agreement with the statements included in the questionnaire.

conclusionsDespite the diverse composition of the rehabilitation workforce, this mixed methods study demonstrated that a strong consensus on competencies and behaviors that are shared across professions, specializations, and settings, and for activities and tasks that collectively capture the scope of rehabilitation practice. The development of the Rehabilitation Competency Framework is a pivotal step toward the twin goals of building workforce capability to improve quality of care and strengthening a common rehabilitation workforce identity that will bolster its visibility and influence at a systems-level.

Indexed as

Scope of PracticeAdultClinical CompetenceConsensusCurriculumDelphi TechniqueFemaleHealth WorkforceHumansMaleMiddle AgedPhysical and Rehabilitation MedicineQuality ImprovementResearch DesignSurveys and QuestionnairesWorld Health OrganizationClinical competenceCompetency-based educationEducationHealth workforceProfessional competenceRehabilitation

Identifiers

PMID33245940
PMCPMC8183593

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.