SPECIAL ARTICLE  METHODOLOGICAL NOTES ON APPLYING THE INTERNATIONAL CLASSIFICATION OF FUNCTIONING, DISABILITY AND HEALTH (ICF) IN REHABILITATION Free access

European Journal of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine 2017 February;53(1):134-8

DOI: 10.23736/S1973-9087.17.04565-8

Copyright © 2017 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: English

Functioning: the third health indicator in the health system and the key indicator for rehabilitation

Gerold STUCKI ^{1, 2, 3}, Jerome BICKENBACH ^{1, 2, 3} ✉

¹ Department of Health Sciences and Health Policy, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Lucerne, Lucerne, Switzerland; ² Swiss Paraplegic Research (SPF), Nottwil, Switzerland; ³ ICF Research Branch, a Cooperation Partner within the WHO Collaborating Centre for the Family of International Classifications in Germany (at DIMDI), Nottwil, Switzerland

In this methodological note on applying the ICF in rehabilitation, we introduce functioning as the third health indicator complementing the established indicators mortality and morbidity. Together, these three provide a complete set of indicators for monitoring the performance of health strategies in health systems. When applying functioning as the third health indicator across the five health strategies, it is fundamental to distinguish between biological health and lived health. For rehabilitation, functioning is the key indicator. Since we can now code mortality and morbidity data with the ICD, and functioning data with the ICF, and since given current plans to including functioning properties in the proposed ICD-11 revision, we should in the future be able to report on all three health indicators.

KEY WORDS: Rehabilitation - Health systems plans - International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health