As the number of people living with a disability continues to rise, health workers are increasingly performing much-needed rehabilitation work without proof of the required education or training.
To this end, CGFNS International Inc (CGFNS) has recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Association of Schools of Allied Health Professions (ASAHP) to set the standards for global certification for these health workers and to upgrade education and training programs to support safe and effective rehabilitation care around the world.
“With its 42-year history of credential evaluation in the health professions, CGFNS is uniquely positioned to set these standards with our ASAHP colleagues for rehabilitation health workers,” says Franklin A. Shaffer, EdD, RN, FAAN, FFNMRCSI, president and CEO of CGFNS, in a media release.
“The demand for a skilled global rehabilitation workforce continues to grow, so we’re working to ensure our standards are aligned with ongoing international efforts calling for high-quality and accessible care.”
One billion people globally are currently living with a disability, according to World Health Organization (WHO) estimates. That number is projected to increase due to an aging population, environmental conditions, and other factors. Evidence also suggests that disability disproportionately affects women, older people, and poor people, per the release.
WHO Rehabilitation 2030 continued to identify avenues to alleviate this growing health concern, following a comparable trajectory first established in WHO Global Disability Action Plan 2014-2021. The initial goals of improving access to rehabilitation health programs, strengthening assistance and support services, and improving international disability research and data collection all require a health workforce trained to provide rehabilitation care in different practice-settings around the globe.
“With its university-members and employers focused on providing education for health professionals, ASAHP is uniquely qualified to lend its strengths in developing competency standards in rehabilitation care in the global context,” states Susan Hanrahan, PhD, PT, MPA, president of ASAHP. “ASAHP is honored to join CGFNS as a strategic partner to develop education programs and to provide subject matter expertise and academic leadership through this worldwide certification program.”
Research conducted over a two-year span by CGFNS and ASAHP confirmed that a global rehabilitation certification will go a long way in recognizing this important health workforce.
[Source(s): CGFNS International Inc, PR Newswire]
