Estimates of the global workforce required for providing assistive technology: a modeling study.

The model is based entirely on Swedish data, which reflects a high-resource context with a specific organizational structure. The authors state that Sweden may have an excess of specialists compared to other countries, which could inflate the estimated workforce requirements for other contexts. The study only includes the primary workforce involved in provision at centers and associated prescribers. It excludes personnel working in policy, funding, legislation, standards, design, and mass production, so the total workforce needed is likely higher. The estimate assumes that workforce productivity in other countries will match Sweden's. The sensitivity analysis suggests that if productivity varies by up to 50%, the required workforce could range from 2.2 to 6.5 million FTE. Data on prescribers was difficult to compile and varied across domains, likely contributing to a conservative estimate. The study does not account for differences in how services are organized, such as decentralization or task-sharing, which can significantly impact workforce needs.

Do not interpret the 4.4 million FTE estimate as a fixed target for every country. The model is based on Swedish workforce structures, which include a high ratio of clinical to non-clinical staff and specialist roles that may not be feasible or necessary in other resource settings. The actual workforce required will depend heavily on local organizational models, productivity levels, and the mix of prefabricated versus custom products.