Drafting the SWOT
In the context above, the Strengths and Weaknesses of our SWOT framework
were primarily identified from the findings of our recent scoping review
of the occupational therapy workforce research. The three-pronged
scoping review addressed: 1) the scope of the literature and its
research methods,17 2) the types of findings
generated,18 and 3) the self-reported limitations and
recommendations.19 Data and reports generated by WFOT
were also used to inform the Strengths and Weaknesses, e.g., data from
the WFOT human resources project, and secondary analyses using this
information that is internal to the occupational therapy workforce
research ecosystem3,5,8,26.
The identification of Opportunities and Threats was based on major
health workforce development frameworks and development activities.
These include the Global Strategy on the Human Resources for
Health,2 which provides global guidance for workforce
research and developments, and the Global Strategic Directions for
Strengthening Nursing and Midwifery which provides a profession-specific
development guide.26 We also relied on a recent
guidebook from the World Health Organization on developing health labor
market analyses.27 Furthermore, we used frameworks and
tools (e.g., Rehabilitation 2030; Rehabilitation Competency Framework;
Six Rehab Workforce
Challenges)21,28,29that can guide cross-professional rehabilitation workforce developments.
Finally, we relied on a recent analysis of publication and funding
trends on the health workforce literature,30 and on
the current occupational classification system and global databases for
reporting health workforce
data.31-33
Based on the abovementioned sources, a subset of the authors (TJ, CvZ,
and RL) elaborated on a draft SWOT analysis which was then subjected to
expert review and refinement suggestions.