Q & A
Q & A
Q & A with
This month we talk to the World Federation of Occupational Therapists to find out more about the development and launch of its new Global Strategy , which aims to strengthen and advance the occupational therapy workforce .
T he World Federation of Occupational Therapists ( WFOT ) is collaborating with member organisations and partners worldwide to address the growing need for occupational therapy .
As ageing populations and noncommunicable health conditions increase , occupational therapists play a vital role in meeting health and occupational needs globally .
To support this , WFOT has developed a Global Strategy for strengthening the occupational therapy workforce . This framework guides national and local efforts through strategic priorities and action plans , serving as a resource for organisations , educators , governments , and policymakers .
Q
A
What were the key objectives identified by WFOT when formulating the Global Strategy for advancing occupational therapy worldwide ?
The occupational therapy workforce remains underdeveloped or inequitably distributed within and across countries of varied income levels .
This finding is consistently reported by member organisations in biennial WFOT surveys regarding the occupational therapy workforce ( WFOT 2022 ), at a time when population needs are increasing for occupational therapy services within the global community ( WHO 2017 ; Cieza et al 2021 ).
The objectives of the WFOT Global Strategy are therefore to : provide a global , overarching framework that articulates key strategic directions for the assessment and strengthening of the occupational therapy workforce at local , national and regional levels ; and inform the development of contextsensitive situation assessments , priorities and plans for strengthening the occupational therapy workforce .
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How did WFOT incorporate feedback from its member organisations and stakeholders in shaping the Global Strategy , to ensure a collaborative approach ?
WFOT used a multistage process to develop the Global Strategy , which involved collaboration with our member organisations , as well as research experts in health human resources .
This collaboration was integral to ensure we developed a strategy that had relevance and utility to advance the profession at a local , national and global level .
We first developed a list of strategies that was informed by our prior scoping review of occupational therapy
16 OTnews January 2025