Establishing International Professional Standards for Clinical Exercise Physiology: A Consensus Approach

Background: Professional standards serve as essential frameworks for informing and measuring educational programs and individual credentialling across numerous professions, including those in allied health. Clinical exercise physiology has emerged as a distinct discipline focused on the application of exercise-based interventions for the prevention and management of chronic diseases and health conditions. Despite its growing recognition and importance in healthcare systems worldwide, the absence of internationally standardized professional standards has created inconsistencies in education, practice, and credentialling across different countries. The establishment of globally applicable professional standards is therefore critical for ensuring quality of care, facilitating workforce mobility, and advancing the profession's recognition within healthcare systems. Methods: This consensus development project employed an e-Delphi approach to build international agreement on professional standards for clinical exercise physiologists. The process was guided by a steering committee and an expert working group comprising international representatives. The expert working group reviewed proposed elements, determining whether each should be included or excluded and, if included, whether it should be designated as core or non-core. Element wording was checked for accuracy and clarity. Inclusion as a core element required ۸۰% consensus from the expert working group across multiple Delphi rounds. Results: The e-Delphi process achieved consensus on four overarching professional standard domains: professional practice; foundational knowledge; assessment and client management; and case formulation with design and delivery of evidence-based interventions. Consensus was also achieved on individual elements within each domain. All but two elements were accepted as core standards, with the remaining two included in the professional standards due to their proximity to the ۸۰% consensus threshold and their established presence in existing clinical exercise physiology professional standards where the profession is well-established. Conclusion: International professional standards consensus has been achieved, providing a foundational framework to support standardized approaches to education and practice in clinical exercise physiology globally. Future efforts should focus on implementation strategies, ongoing review mechanisms, and alignment with evolving healthcare contexts to ensure continued relevance and impact.

کلیدواژه ها:

Clinical exercise physiology ، Professional standards ، Consensus ، Credentialling ، Education ، Allied health