The benefits of using an international classification for health

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Issue: 20 June 2007

Speakers at the discussion panel on the World Health Organization's international classification of functioning, disability and health (pictured right), praised the way it could throw new light on what physiotherapists did, and why.

In particular, the panel discussion highlighted the systematic method of coding environmental factors, which emphasised the importance of looking at a person's context, and how that affected their ability to function.

Lara Allet from Switzerland said that the ICF had 'widened my mind to a more comprehensive understanding of patients' problems and needs.' In Switzerland, she said, a lot of work had gone into implementing it in education and research.

Ken Harwood from the American Physical Therapy Association described how the organisation was developing a manual that would apply the ICF to physiotherapy.

Margaret Hastings described the challenges faced in Scotland and said it was important that all professions used the classification that was available, rather than inventing their own. She asked: 'How do you persuade 2,700 allied health professionals to describe their clinical cases in the same way?'

Jennifer Jelsma from South Africa said that even though some professionals felt daunted by the ICF, her experience showed this didn't have to be the case.

'The way to use it is just to use it,' she said. 'We had small projects which just got bigger. I'd suggest you start with little somethings using ICF, and that gives you knowledge and experience to use it more and more.'