Beyond Hospital to Community: Exploring the Core Competencies of Community Health Professionals

Abstract

Objective: To identify and validate the core competencies required of Community Health Professionals (CHPs) to deliver interprofessional team-based care in Singapore’s integrated health services.

Methods: An exploratory sequential mixed methods design was used. Four focus groups with CHPs generated initial competency themes and items through thematic analysis. These findings informed a survey in which respondents rated the importance of each item on a five-point Likert scale. Descriptive statistics were used to analyse survey responses.

Settings: The study was conducted across Singapore’s three regional health systems. Participants were health professionals who worked in, or oversaw, community health teams. 36 health professionals participated in the focus groups and 52 responded to the survey.

Results: Focus groups identified seven themes and 57 competency items. Survey findings showed strong consensus, with 49 items rated as very important or essential. Together with one contextually relevant item on multilingual communication, these informed the final CHP competency framework. Comparison with the World Health Organization health workforce framework supported reorganisation of the 50 core competencies into six clusters: patient advocacy, effective communication, teamwork, people-centred care, continuous learning mindset, and patient assessment and care management. The added competency cluster reflected local expectations for health professionals to perform biopsychosocial screening, basic management, and care escalation in community-based practice.

Conclusion: This study developed a locally relevant CHP competency framework that aligns with international guidance while addressing Singapore’s integrated health system context. The framework offers practical guidance for workforce development, interprofessional education, and competency-based training to support the shift from hospital to community care.