Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33941191›Full record

ArticleHuman resources for health2021

Conceptual framework for task shifting and task sharing: an international Delphi study.

Aaron M Orkin, Sampreeth Rao, Jeyasakthi Venugopal, Natasha Kithulegoda, Pete Wegier, Stephen D Ritchie, David VanderBurgh, Alexandra Martiniuk, Fabio Salamanca-Buentello, Ross Upshur

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Human resources for health, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 87 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
87citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
35.2field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
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

87 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 142 citations in OpenAlex.

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27 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

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

10 authors at 7 institutions in 3 countries.

Aaron M OrkinDepartment of Family and Community Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada. aorkin@gmail.com.ORCID 0000-0002-1111-8720
Sampreeth RaoTemerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.
Jeyasakthi VenugopalAssociation of Public Health Epidemiologists of Ontario, Toronto, Canada.
Natasha KithulegodaInstitute for Health Policy, Management, and Evaluation, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.
Pete WegierHumber River Hospital, Toronto, Canada.
Stephen D RitchieSchool of Kinesiology and Health Sciences, Faculty of Health, Laurentian University; Sudbury, Toronto, Canada.
David VanderBurghDepartment of Family Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada.
Alexandra MartiniukInstitute for Health Policy, Management, and Evaluation, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.
Fabio Salamanca-BuentelloBridgepoint Collaboratory for Research and Innovation, Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute, Sinai Health System, Toronto, Canada.
Ross UpshurInstitute for Health Policy, Management, and Evaluation, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.
University of Toronto · CACanadian Public Health Association · CAHumber River Regional Hospital · CALunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute · CAMcMaster University · CAThe University of Sydney · AUUniversity of Sudbury · CA

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundTask shifting and sharing (TS/S) involves the redistribution of health tasks within workforces and communities. Conceptual frameworks lay out the key factors, constructs, and variables involved in a given phenomenon, as well as the relationships between those factors. Though TS/S is a leading strategy to address health worker shortages and improve access to services worldwide, a conceptual framework for this approach is lacking.

methodsWe used an online Delphi process to engage an international panel of scholars with experience in knowledge synthesis concerning TS/S and develop a conceptual framework for TS/S. We invited 55 prospective panelists to participate in a series of questionnaires exploring the purpose of TS/S and the characteristics of contexts amenable to TS/S programmes. Panelist responses were analysed and integrated through an iterative process to achieve consensus on the elements included in the conceptual framework.

resultsThe panel achieved consensus concerning the included concepts after three Delphi rounds among 15 panelists. The COATS Framework (Concepts and Opportunities to Advance Task Shifting and Task Sharing) offers a refined definition of TS/S and a general purpose statement to guide TS/S programmes. COATS describes that opportunities for health system improvement arising from TS/S programmes depending on the implementation context, and enumerates eight necessary conditions and important considerations for implementing TS/S programmes.

conclusionThe COATS Framework offers a conceptual model for TS/S programmes. The COATS Framework is comprehensive and adaptable, and can guide refinements in policy, programme development, evaluation, and research to improve TS/S globally.

Indexed as

PolicyConsensusDelphi TechniqueHumansProspective StudiesWorkforceCommunity health workersConceptual frameworkDelphi processGlobal healthHealth human resourcesTask sharingTask shifting

Identifiers

PMID33941191
PMCPMC8091141
OpenAlexW3134573334

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
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.