Competency acquisition among rehabilitation professionals supporting older residents' community-based activities in Japan: a qualitative study.

[Purpose] In Japan, community-gathering initiatives for older residents often involve support from rehabilitation professionals. However, the quality of this support varies. This study aimed to clarify the rehabilitation professionals' competency-acquisition process for establishing better support methods and processes, thereby reducing regional and individual differences. [Participants and Methods] The study included 10 rehabilitation professionals (nine physical therapists and one occupational therapist; eight males and two females, aged 34-57 years) with 2-7 years of experience facilitating community gatherings. Semi-structured interviews and the modified grounded theory approach were used. [Results] The results of this study identified 38 concepts, 15 subcategories, and finally the following 6 categories pertaining to the effective support process of care prevention: "not confident", "prepare for support", "form a rapport", "know the field", "implement effective support", and "utilize support experiences". [Conclusion] To prevent long-term frailty among older residents, rehabilitation professionals should 1) establish a system for ensuring their participation in the project, 2) understand the core principles of community rehabilitation, 3) facilitate residents' initiatives, and 4) mediate group activities. Apart from conventional physical-therapy skills, rehabilitation professionals must acquire specific competencies to support community gatherings as a part of their education, such as providing indirect group support rather than direct individual support.

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2024©by the Society of Physical Therapy Science. Published by IPEC Inc.

Déclaration de conflit d'intérêts

We would like to thank all those involved in this study. This study was supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grant Number JP20K19457. The authors declare no conflict of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript; or in the decision to publish the results.