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. 2020 Sep 5;17(18):6476.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph17186476.

Applying the WHO ICF Framework to the Outcome Measures Used in the Evaluation of Long-Term Clinical Outcomes in Coronavirus Outbreaks

Kajal Patel  1   2 , Sofia Straudi  3 , Ng Yee Sien  4 , Nora Fayed  5 , John L Melvin  6 , Manoj Sivan  2   7
Affiliations

Applying the WHO ICF Framework to the Outcome Measures Used in the Evaluation of Long-Term Clinical Outcomes in Coronavirus Outbreaks

Kajal Patel et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

(1) Objective: The World Health Organization's (WHO) International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) classification is a unified framework for the description of health and health-related states. This study aimed to use the ICF framework to classify outcome measures used in follow-up studies of coronavirus outbreaks and make recommendations for future studies. (2) Methods: EMBASE, MEDLINE, CINAHL and PsycINFO were systematically searched for original studies assessing clinical outcomes in adult survivors of severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (SARS), middle east respiratory syndrome (MERS) and coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) after hospital discharge. Individual items of the identified outcome measures were linked to ICF second-level and third-level categories using ICF linking rules and categorized according to an ICF component. (3) Results: In total, 33 outcome measures were identified from 36 studies. Commonly used (a) ICF body function measures were Pulmonary Function Tests (PFT), Impact of event scale (IES-R) and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS); (b) ICF activity was 6-Minute Walking Distance (6MWD); (c) ICF participation measures included Short Form-36 (SF-36) and St George's Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ). ICF environmental factors and personal factors were rarely measured. (4) Conclusions: We recommend future COVID-19 follow-up studies to use the ICF framework to select a combination of outcome measures that capture all the components for a better understanding of the impact on survivors and planning interventions to maximize functional return.

Keywords: COVID-19; MERS; SARS; exercise tolerance; follow-up studies; lung function; mental health; outcome measures; prevalence; quality of life.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
PRISMA flowchart for the literature search.
Figure 2
Figure 2
International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) categorization of outcome measures used in long-term follow-up studies of coronavirus survivors.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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