2026/01/01 by Yeliz Prior, William J Gregory, Simone Battista +15 · 1 voice
Health Professions · Medicine · #Occupational Therapy Practice and Research #Musculoskeletal Disorders and Rehabilitation #Rheumatoid Arthritis Research and Therapies
paper · doi:10.1093/rap/rkag038
openalex publication_date 2026/01/01 · openalex created_date 2026/03/29 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/22
Objectives: To describe the development and national consensus process underpinning the Rheumatology Occupational Therapy Capabilities Framework. This work addresses the absence of a structured framework defining the knowledge, skills and professional behaviours required of the occupational therapy workforce working within rheumatology services managing rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases and the need for a consistent national reference to support practice, workforce planning and professional development. Methods: A five-stage mixed methods process was adopted between May 2023 and September 2025, beginning with the design of a UK-wide scoping survey of rheumatology occupational therapists. Subsequent stages included expert consultation, alignment with national and international standards, stakeholder review and endorsement by professional bodies. Results: The process achieved national consensus across rheumatology occupational therapists from all four UK nations and resulted in a four-domain, five-level capability framework mapped to NHS Agenda for Change bands and allied health professions practice levels. Conclusion: This study describes a structured national consensus process used to develop and endorse a specialist capability framework for occupational therapy in rheumatology. The five-stage approach achieved formal endorsement from the Royal College of Occupational Therapists and the British Society for Rheumatology and offers a transparent, transferable model for specialist capability framework development across allied health professions.