Description of the methodology for developing and validating the WHO’s family planning and comprehensive abortion care competencies for the primary health care workforce

A qualified health workforce is essential to receiving effective, timely, affordable, equitable and respectful family planning and comprehensive abortion care. However, in many countries, health workers lack the competencies required to deliver quality family planning and comprehensive abortion care services. Competency-based education and learning aims to train and assess competencies. The theory-supported approach focuses on outcomes, emphasizes the learner’s ability to perform, promotes learner-centeredness and links the health needs of the population to the competencies required of health workers. In 2011, the World Health Organization published a guidance document, Sexual and reproductive health - Core competencies in primary care, defining the competencies that primary care providers need to safely deliver sexual and reproductive health services at the community level and included family planning and comprehensive abortion care.

In this article, we describe the methodology and process undertaken in 2020, by the World Health Organization to produce the family planning and comprehensive abortion care competencies guidance, filling gaps identified in the previous guidance document. The World Health Organization’s Family Planning and Comprehensive Abortion Care toolkit for the primary health care workforce was published in 2022 and defines the key competencies for health workers in primary health care providing quality family planning and comprehensive abortion care services, as well as support for developing programmes and curricula for education and lifelong learning. The Toolkit is useful for practitioners, managers/supervisors and employers, educators, regulatory bodies, and policymakers. It is an important advance toward strengthening family planning and comprehensive abortion care services in primary health care.