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.