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. 2008 Mar;13(3):173-8.
doi: 10.1093/pch/13.3.173.

Employing the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health to enhance services for children and youth with chronic physical health conditions and disabilities

Janette McDougall  1 , Karen Horgan, Patricia Baldwin, Mary Ann Tucker, Pamela Frid
Affiliations

Employing the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health to enhance services for children and youth with chronic physical health conditions and disabilities

Janette McDougall et al. Paediatr Child Health. 2008 Mar.

Abstract
in English, French

Purpose: In 2001, the World Health Organization published the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF). The ICF is just beginning to be used in a variety of clinical and research settings in Canada and worldwide. The purpose of the present article is to describe the initial use of the ICF at an Ontario children's rehabilitation centre, and to consider further uses both within and outside the centre for enhancing services for children and youth with chronic physical health conditions and disabilities, as well as for their families.

Method: A description is provided on how the ICF has been used at the centre to guide clinical thinking and practice, and to justify and steer research directions. Plans underway to use the ICF to collect and record functional data at the centre are also described. Finally, recommendations for the use of the ICF to enhance communication among child health professionals across service settings are provided.

Conclusions: Used in conjunction with the International Classification of Diseases - Tenth Revision, the ICF's conceptual framework and classification system shows great promise for enhancing the quality of services for children with chronic conditions and their families. This information may assist paediatric specialists, other child health professionals, researchers and administrators to use the ICF in similar settings. It may also stimulate exploration of the use of the ICF for general paediatricians and other service providers in the larger community.

OBJECTIF: En 2001, l’Organisation mondiale de la santé a publié la Classification internationale du fonctionnement, du handicap et de la santé (CIF). La CIF commence tout juste à être utilisée dans divers milieux cliniques et de recherche au Canada et dans le monde. Le présent article vise à décrire l’utilisation initiale de la CIF dans un centre de réadaptation ontarien pour enfants et à envisager d’autres usages, à l’intérieur comme à l’extérieur du centre, afin d’améliorer les services aux enfants et aux adolescents atteints de troubles santé chroniques ou de handicaps, ainsi qu’à leur famille.

MÉTHODOLOGIE: Les auteurs fournissent une description du mode d’utilisation de la CIF au centre afin d’orienter la réflexion clinique et la pratique, ainsi que pour justifier et aiguiller les orientations de recherche. Ils décrivent également les projets d’utilisation de la CIF pour colliger et documenter les données fonctionnelles au centre. Enfin, ils font des recommandations sur l’utilisation de la CIF pour améliorer les communications entre professionnels de la santé infantile de divers services.

CONCLUSIONS: Utilisée conjointement avec la Classification internationale des maladies, 10e révision, le cadre théorique de la CIF est très prometteur pour améliorer la qualité des services aux enfants atteints d’un trouble chronique et à leur famille. Cette information peut aider les spécialistes en pédiatrie, les autres professionnels de la santé, les chercheurs et les administrateurs à utiliser la CIF dans des milieux similaires. Elle peut également inciter les pédiatres non spécialisés et d’autres dispensateurs de soins à explorer l’utilisation de la CIF dans l’ensemble de la collectivité.

Keywords: Canada; Children; Chronic illness; Disability; ICF; Paediatrics; Rehabilitation; Youth.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The World Health Organization’s (WHO) Model of Functioning and Disability. Source: The WHO, 2001
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