Possibilities of use of The International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) in rehabilitation
Abstract
Background: The International Classification of Functionin, Diasability and Health (ICF) is a classification developed by the WHO and used in Europe for more than 20 years. It is a tool for functional evaluation, which plays a key role in rehabilitation.
The unwritten rule is that there are no 2 patients with the same diagnosis who have identical functional limitations. Methods: A case report of a 23-year-old patient after a severe craniotrauma, who has repeatedly participated in stays in the neurorehabilitation day treatment centre in the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine of the First Medical Faculty of Charles University and the General Hospital in Prague since the head injury since March 2018.
The patient was repeatedly evaluated using functional tests and ICF classification by individual members of the interprofessional rehabilitation team. Results: The results show that it makes sense to work with young patients after brain trauma for more than 2 years after the injury.
Positive changes in functional status are captured mainly in the area of activities and participations (d), which are related to activities of daily living. Conclusions: The ICF undoubtedly has an irreplaceable place and practical use in clinical rehabilitation practice.
It can serve, for example, as a marker of changes in the functional status of patients, even in the longer term, also as a measure of the effect of rehabilitation intervention or as an indicator of the need for indication and very expensive aids.