3RHWCO Research & Action Programmes
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Programme 1 — Competency Intelligence Hub
The Observatory’s core infrastructural function. Maintains a structured, continuously updated knowledge base of competency frameworks, professional standards, organisations, experts, country profiles, professions and thematic areas. Every record is source-linked, dated and classified by RHWCO’s taxonomy (normative standard / competency framework / educational framework / professional standard / qualification / curriculum / assessment system / implementation guidance). Principal public product: the RHWCO Knowledge Hub. Methodology: AI-assisted discovery with human editorial verification against primary sources.
References: WHO UHC Framework · WHO EPHF Framework Status: ● Active |
Programme 2 — Country Competency Profiles
Structured, comparable national profiles covering: health workforce governance and legislation; education system and institutions; professional registration and licensure; accreditation of education programmes; qualifications frameworks; national competency standards; continuing professional development; assessment systems; identified gaps and priorities. Phase 1: Georgia (anchor country, 2026). Phase 2: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Türkiye. Phase 3: Moldova, Ukraine. Phase 4: Central Asia.
References: European Observatory HiT reviews · WHO NHWA data Status: ● Phase 1 active |
Programme 3 — Public Health Workforce
Who constitutes the public-health workforce in the RHWCO region? What are their functions, and what competencies should they have? The region retains large public-health institute systems, often with unclear professional boundaries. Programme 3 maps EPHFs against existing workforce structures and available competency frameworks, identifies alignment and gaps, and proposes national pathways. Primary references: WHO EPHF Framework 2024 · WHO-ASPHER European Framework · IANPHI
Status: ● Mapping active |
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Programme 4 — Thematic Competency Tracks
Specialised competency analysis by health domain. Active tracks: Refugee & Migrant Health — WHO CS 2021, active PHIG implementation experience (Riga 2024, PHIG Migration Observatory); Digital Health & AI — WHO Landscape 2026. Planned tracks: Patient Safety (WHO IPS); Emergency Preparedness (ECDC, WHO HSP); NCDs; Mental Health (WHO mhGAP); IPC; AMR.
Status: ● 2 tracks active |
Programme 5 — Competency-Based Education
Connects competency requirements to education systems: learning outcome definition → curriculum mapping → teaching approaches → assessment design → practice validation. Grounded in the RHWCO principle: attendance is not competence. Supports faculty development, curriculum mapping and education system reform. Key methodology references: AMEE competency-based medical education; CanMEDS framework; ACGME milestones; ASPHER Core Curriculum.
Status: ● Development |
Programme 6 — Competency Assessment Research
How is competence actually demonstrated — and is it? Catalogues and evaluates: written knowledge assessment; objective structured clinical examinations (OSCEs); simulation and procedural skills assessment; direct observation of practice; workplace-based assessment tools; portfolios and reflective practice; multisource (360°) feedback; progress testing. Develops the RHWCO Competency Evidence Ladder — a classification of evidence quality from self-report to validated performance. References: AMEE · ACGME milestones · FPH (UK)
Status: ● Research phase |
Programme 7 — Emerging Competencies Observatory
Monitors rapidly evolving workforce requirements where the evidence base is developing faster than institutional frameworks can absorb. Current priorities: Artificial Intelligence in Health — AI literacy; responsible use of clinical decision support; algorithmic bias recognition; communication of AI-derived recommendations; professional accountability in AI-augmented practice. References: WHO Digital Health Landscape 2026; WHO Ethics and Governance of AI for Health. Climate & Health — displacement-related health competencies; WHO Environment, Climate & Health. One Health (One Health Joint Plan of Action); Health Security (IHR 2005); Migration & Health (PHIG Observatory). Core principle: monitor first — do not declare a standard prematurely.
Status: ● Active monitoring
6Thematic Competency Areas
| Universal Health CoverageWHO 2022 global architecture — 6 domains, 24 competencies, 35 practice activities. Cross-cutting foundation for all RHWCO work | Essential Public Health FunctionsWHO 2024 — public-health workforce capacity; epidemiology, surveillance, health promotion, emergency preparedness | Refugee & Migrant HealthWHO CS 2021 — 9 standards, full implementation package; PHIG active delivery experience (Riga 2024) | Digital Health & AIWHO landscape 2026 — emerging stream; AI literacy, clinical informatics, digital professionalism |
| Patient SafetyWHO Patient Safety Curriculum Guide; multi-professional frameworks — mapping planned under Programme 4 | Emergency PreparednessIHR 2005, ECDC, WHO HSP — surge and emergency health workforce competencies; high regional relevance | Infection Prevention & ControlWHO IPC core components — health worker competency standards; post-pandemic priority across the region | NCDsClinical and public-health competencies for NCD prevention and management — dominant burden across RHWCO region |
| Mental HealthWHO mhGAP — task-sharing competencies; high unmet need documented across Caucasus and Central Asia | Primary Health CareAstana Declaration 2018; family medicine; community health workers — major reform agenda across region | Climate & HealthEmerging — climate-displacement health needs; Central Asia heat and water stress; competency frameworks developing | Self-CareWHO 2023 — full implementation package (standards → knowledge → curriculum); RHWCO operationalization case study |
9Methodology & Scientific Principles
RHWCO operates a strict taxonomy distinguishing: normative standards · competency frameworks · educational frameworks · professional standards · national qualifications · curricula · assessment systems · implementation guidance
These categories are related but not equivalent. A WHO global framework is not the same as a national professional standard. A published curriculum is not evidence of what students learn. A qualification is not evidence of demonstrated competence. These distinctions are fundamental to RHWCO’s analytical approach and are built into the classification system of every record in the knowledge base.
| Evidence before assertionEvery substantive claim is traceable to an identifiable, accessible primary source — not to secondary summaries or AI-generated text alone | Primary sources firstWHO, governments, regulators, statutory professional bodies and peer-reviewed literature preferred over secondary aggregators | Provenance documentedFor every framework: who developed it, through what process, with what mandate, and when — recorded in the knowledge base record | Context mattersGlobal standards require responsible national contextualisation — the WHO-ASPHER framework explicitly endorses adaptation; mechanical copying is not implementation |
| Competence ≠ attendanceParticipation in education is not evidence of competence. RHWCO’s assessment research programme is grounded in this distinction | Transparency of interpretationRHWCO analysis is clearly distinguished from the source material it analyses. Positions are stated as RHWCO positions, not attributed to referenced organisations | Continuously updatedRecords carry verification dates and are reviewed on a defined schedule — the competency field is moving quickly and dated information causes harm | AI-assisted · Human-verified · Source-linkedAI supports discovery and drafting; all substantive claims are verified against identifiable primary sources before publication. Every record links to its source. |
RHWCO and artificial intelligence: AI tools including large language models support discovery, drafting and synthesis. All factual claims, framework descriptions, organisational listings and citations are verified against primary sources before publication. AI-generated text that cannot be verified is not published. Where a claim is uncertain, it is marked as such or omitted.
Cite this page: Public Health Institute of Georgia, Regional Health Workforce Competency Observatory. Programmes & method. Version 5.1, 6 October 2026. https://publichealth.ge/rhwco/programmes/ (accessed: add date). Licence CC BY 4.0. Data from WHO NHWA/World Bank WDI are CC BY 4.0 and cited at source.