A Systematic Identification and Overview of National Qualification Programs for Outdoor Pursuit Leaders Worldwide

This study aimed to identify national qualification programs for outdoor pursuit leaders (OPLs) worldwide, using a systematic survey methodology inspired in part by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) search protocol, and international experts were consulted to identify OPL qualification programs. A brief overview of the characteristics of these programs is presented as a comparison tool. In all, 16 national programs were identified across five continents. The results highlight the existence of OPL qualification programs in a variety of geographical and cultural contexts, with a significant concentration in Europe. The study offers a discussion of the challenges encountered in identifying these programs, due to the diversity of program names and qualification objectives. Despite certain methodological limitations, this study constitutes, to our knowledge, an important first step toward a better understanding of OPL training and qualification worldwide, offering avenues for future research in the field and opening the door for applications in the practical domain.