International Classification of Functioning, Disability & Health:

Identify the different levels of human functioning or disability relevant to the ICF.

- The International Classification of Functioning, Disability & Health (ICF) was first developed by the World
Health Organization in 1980.

What is it?
- ICF is a tool for
- measuring and classifying functioning
of a person in society

MEDICAL MODEL SOCIAL MODEL

Views disability in terms of:
- Disease
- Trauma
- Medical condition which requires medical care
provided in the form of individual treatment by
professionals.
In this model, disability seeks medical attention to
correct or improve the problem.
Views disability as a socially- created problem and
not at all an attribute of an individual.
In this model, disability demands political response
because the problem is created by an
unaccommodating physical environment and a
social environment which is not inclusive

IMPAIRMENTS:
Problems in body function or structure such as a significant deviation or loss

ACTIVITY LIMITATIONS:
Difficulties an individual may have in executing activities

PARTICIPATION RESTRICTIONS:
Problems an individual may experience
in participation in community based life
situations

Classify environmental and personal factors influencing an individual’s level of functioning.

Identify reasons for using the ICF.
Why do we use the ICF:
- Studies show that diagnosis alone does not predict service needs, length of hospitalisation,
level of care or functional outcomes
- Integration of medical, health worker, social, environmental & political factors in understanding health.

ICF - PROVIDING UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE:

- The ICF provide a universal language and framework for the description of health and health related states
- Identified 3 levels of functioning at
● Body Structures & Functions
● Activity
● Participation

Describe contextual factors for using the ICF.

Apply the ICF at individual, research, institutional, and social levels, and link aspects of client functioning to
the appropriate ICF factors.
TUTORIAL: DESCRIBING AND EXPLAINING THE CLIENTS’S EXPERIENCE USING THE
ICF:

WHAT DOES THE ICF STAND FOR AND WHAT IS ITS PURPOSE?
International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health
- provides a standard common language that describes health
- focuses on level of functioning, rather than on disability

WHY IS THIS FRAMEWORK RELEVANT TO YOU AS A FUTURE HEALTH SCIENCE PROFESSIONAL?

- common language aides in interprofessional communication
- focus on functioning allows for mutually agreeable goals
- an appreciation of context and the impact this has on the client/patient
- validates the varying roles of different members of the health care team

In the ICF, a person’s level of functioning is viewed as an outcomes of interactions

between:
1. health conditions (disease, disorder) and
2. contextual factors(environment and personal)

In the ICF, human functioning is identified at three levels:

1. body or body part (impairments)
– Function
– Structures
2. whole person (activity limitations)
3. whole person in a social context (participation restrictions)