Updating the IUHPE Core Competencies for Health Promotion: a scoping review and consultation with the health promotion community

Competency frameworks play an important role in strengthening workforce capacity for promoting population health and wellbeing. However, competencies need to be periodically reviewed and revised to maintain their relevance to changing practice and contexts. This paper reports on the process of reviewing and updating the International Union for Health Promotion and Education (IUHPE) Core Competencies for Health Promotion. A multistage process was employed, which involved conducting a scoping review of the literature on health promotion competencies (2012–2022), based on which suggested revisions to the IUHPE Core Competency statements were made. An online consultation was then undertaken with the health promotion community, as represented by practitioners and members registered with the IUHPE Accreditation System, to consider the updated Revised Draft Framework with proposed changes. There was a high level of consensus concerning the proposed changes among respondents, based on which a revised version of the Competency Framework was produced. This was then forwarded to the IUHPE Global Accreditation System Management Committee and Executive Board for approval. The findings from this updating process are discussed and the implications for future developments are considered.