Table 2.
Presence of nine core standards for orthotist/prosthetist regulation by country and income category (High Income, Upper-Middle Income, Lower-Middle Income and Low Income)
| Presence of Government Regulation | Presence of Core Standards | Number of Core Standards (Total) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum Training/Education | Entry-level Competency Standards | Scope of Practice | Code of Conduct | Course Accreditation | Continuing Professional Development | Language Standard | Recency-of-Practice | Return-to-Practice | |||
| High-Income country n = 14 (47%) | |||||||||||
| 1 | – | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | 9 |
| 2 | – | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | 9 |
| 3 | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | 9 |
| 4* | X | X | X | X | X | X | – | X | X | – | 7 |
| 5 | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | 9 |
| 6 | – | – | – | – | X | n/a | X | – | – | – | 2 |
| 7 | X | X | – | – | – | n/a | – | – | – | – | 1 |
| 8* | X^ | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | 9 |
| 9* | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 0 |
| 10* | X | X | X | X | X | X | – | X | X | – | 7 |
| 11* | – | X | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1 |
| 12 | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | 9 |
| 13* | – | X | X | X | X | X | – | X | X | – | 7 |
| 14* | – | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | – | – | 7 |
| Upper-Middle-Income country n = 4 (13%) | |||||||||||
| 15* | – | X | X | X | X | X | – | – | X | X | 7 |
| 16* | – | X | X | – | X | X | X | – | X | – | 6 |
| 17* | – | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | – | 8 |
| 18* | – | X | X | – | – | X | X | X | X | X | 7 |
| Lower-Middle-Income country n = 5 (17%) | |||||||||||
| 19* | – | X | X | X | – | X | – | X | – | – | 5 |
| 20 | X | X | – | – | – | X | X | – | – | – | 3 |
| 21* | – | X | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1 |
| 22* | – | X | X | – | X | X | – | – | X | X | 6 |
| 23* | – | X | X | – | X | – | – | – | – | – | 3 |
| Low-Income country n = 7 (23%) | |||||||||||
| 24* | – | – | – | – | – | n/a | X | X | – | X | 3 |
| 25* | – | – | – | – | – | n/a | – | – | – | – | 0 |
| 26* | X | X | X | – | X | X | X | – | – | – | 5 |
| 27* | X | X | X | – | X | X | – | X | – | – | 5 |
| 28* | – | – | – | – | – | n/a | – | – | – | – | 0 |
| 29* | – | X | – | – | – | n/a | – | – | – | – | 1 |
| 30* | – | X | X | X | X | n/a | – | X | X | X | 7 |
| Total (%) | 10 (33%) | 25 (83%) | 20 (67%) | 14 (47%) | 19 (63%) | 19 (63%) | 14 (47%) | 16 (53%) | 15 (50%) | 11 (37%) | |
X = standard in place;–= standard absent
*represents those countries where email contact was made with the association/regulatory to clarify the scan data (n = 22)
^ represents one country whereby specific states/regions had a government regulator
n/a signifies the absence of an in-country training programme