Interprofessional Competency Framework for Health Service Managers in Oman: An E-Delphi Study

Objectives: This study aimed to develop the required interprofessional competencies for health service managers in Oman. Methods: Experts (n = 20) were selected based on their years’ experience, position, fluency in English (both verbal and written), and who had completed higher education at either masters or doctorate levels in the relevant field. The data collection consisted of three rounds. Responses were collected and extracted from a web-based designed survey and subsequently analyzed. Results: Experts agreed on the nine interprofessional domains and 41 competencies based on the inclusion of means (M) ≥ 4.4, an interquartile distribution (IQD) ≤ 1.25, and > 80.0% agreement. Findings revealed that there were levels of agreement (90.0% to 95.0%) among the experts in the nine interprofessional competency domains namely: resilience (M = 4.7, IQD = 0.40), research leverage (M = 4.7, IQD = 0.60), interprofessional ethics (M = 4.7, IQD = 0.80), quality improvement (M = 4.7, IQD = 0.80), information technology (M = 4.6, IQD = 0.80), leadership (M = 4.5, IQD = 1.00), management skills (M = 4.5, IQD = 0.80), communication (M = 4.5, IQD = 1.00), and team dynamics (M = 4.5, IQD = 1.00). Conclusions: The development of interprofessional competencies for health service managers is an impetus to strengthen the human resources capabilities, sustain a high level of quality patient outcomes, and to achieve the Ministry of Health’s Health Vision 2050.