ICF-based Documentation Tool
The World Health Organization's (WHO) International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) is a common framework to understand and describe functioning and disability. To make the ICF more applicable for everyday use, WHO and the ICF Research Branch (www.icf-research-branch.org) created a process for developing core sets of ICF categories or "ICF Core Sets". ICF Core Sets facilitate the description of functioning, for example in clinical practice, by providing lists of essential categories that are relevant for specific health conditions and health care contexts. These ICF categories were selected from the entire ICF following a scientific process
based on preparatory studies and the involement of a multidisciplinary group of experts.
To facilitate the use of ICF Core Sets, a manual outlining one approach for using them in clinical practice was published in 2012, including an accompanying electronic documentation tool www.icf-core-sets.org. This tool is currently available in English, French, German, Spanish, Finnish, and Chinese. A detailed instruction of how to use this documentation form and background information about ICF Core Sets can be found in ICF Core Sets: Manual for Clinical Practice.
Manual for Clinical Practice
Hogrefe, Göttingen 2012
- an introduction to the concepts of functioning and disability
- a description of the ICF Core Set development process
- instructions on how to apply ICF Core Sets in clinical practice using the documentation form
- case examples illustrating the application of specific ICF Core Sets
- some language versions include a CD with all available ICF Core Sets and corresponding documentation forms
