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):144-9

DOI: 10.23736/S1973-9087.17.04569-5

Copyright © 2017 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: English

Four steps to follow when documenting functioning with the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health

Gerold STUCKI ^{1, 2, 3}, Birgit PRODINGER ^{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 CF 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 suitable tools that allow us to document comprehensively and systematically the lived experience of health to guide clinical practice, the management of services, evidence-informed policy and scientific inquiry. The objective of this methodological note is to present the currently available tools with respect to four questions: 1) what ICF domains to document; 2) what perspective to take; 3) what data collection tools to apply; and 4) which approach to use for reporting. The application of these tools is illustrated using the Swiss Spinal Cord Injury (SwiSCI) Cohort Study. Existing ICF Sets provide a practical approach for identifying the domains to document. One can document from the perspective of biological health, lived health, and appraised health. For identifying suitable data collection tools, either existing tools can be linked to the ICF or available ICF-based data collection tools can be used. For reporting, an interval scale metric is suggested. The four step approach presented provides users with a logical sequence to follow when planning the documentation of functioning using the ICF as a health information reference system in practice and research.

KEY WORDS: International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health - Rehabilitation - Organization and administration - Policy