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ICF resources

ICF keynote papers

ICF expertise

Some physical therapists have been using the ICF for a number of years and have experience of applying it in a number of ways. WCPT keeps a database of physiotherapy experts who are able to assist others. Through this database WCPT is able to match your need for expertise with someone who may be able to help you use the ICF to improve your practice or simply to discuss what the ICF may be used for.

If you would like to contact someone who may be able to help you use the ICF to improve your practice, or would like to discuss how the ICF may be used please complete the expertise request form.  We will then try to find the most appropriate person on the database to assist.  If you have expertise that you would like to offer please register on the database.

Please note: A listing on the database of experts does not imply any endorsement of an individual's skills or services.  Any arrangements between the enquirer and an expert selected from the list are entirely the responsibility of the partners to the arrangement not the WCPT.  Access further information on the terms and conditions of the database of experts.

Published articles on ICF and applications

There are an increasing number of published articles that reference the ICF. Many of these have been collected into an alphabetic reference list which is available for download in Word and as an Endnote library.

Please note that this list may not be complete, or entirely accurate.  Please send details of any corrections or new references to Catherine Sykes.

Useful Links

  • World Health Organization

The World Health Organization is mandated under its constitution to produce international classifications on health so that there is a consensual, meaningful and useful framework which governments, providers and consumers can use as a common language. The ICF is one of the reference classifications in the WHO Family of International Classifications.

    • The ICF information sheet is a two page document giving brief information on what the ICF is and references to further information.  It is intended for people with little or no knowledge about the ICF.
       
    • The ICF overview is an eight page introduction to ICF, which provides more information about the underlying priniciples and how to use the classification.
       
    • The WHO Beginner's Guide provides an overview of the ICF and its underlying principles. Examples of how the classification can be used are included.
       
    • Download papers and posters from the World Health Organization Family of International Classifications meeting - Toronto, October 2010.  Papers and posters from previous meetings can also be accessed from the WHO website.
       
    • Included on this site is an online browser. You can see the structure of the classification, look up the codes and definitions, create your own short lists of ICF codes and view the classification in more than one language. The ICF browser includes versions in Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish, as well as the ICF derived classification for Children and Youth (ICF-CY).
        
    • Each region of the world is served by a WHO Regional Office with a responsibility to support the Member States in the generation and use of appropriate health information. A list of WHO regional offices is available on the WHO website.
       
    • WHO works with a number of collaborating centres. These centres are located in all regions of the world and may be able to help with your ICF questions. Many of them maintain websites that may include information on the ICF. A list of collaborating centres is available on the WHO website. 
       
    • Different language versions of the ICF have been made. Please enquire from one of the collaborating centres to see if ICF is available in your language. 
       
    • The Australian Collaborating Centre has published an ICF User Guide as a complement to the ICF. The guide provides information on the content and usefulness of the ICF, current and emerging applications of ICF in Australia and advice about ‘getting started’ as well as supporting a consistent and constructive approach to using the ICF. This and other publications on data collections using the ICF are available on the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare website.
       
    • The North American Collaborating Centre produces a monthly electronic newsletter with information on projects on ICF. You can subscribe to this newsletter via their website.
       
    • The Dutch Collaborating Centre produces a newsletter two to three times a year and maintains a database of references on ICF.
       
    • The WHO Collaborating Centre in France has recently opened a website with ICF information. At this time only the main page is in open access for everyone. This page is dedicated to the common activities of the IFRH (Institut Fédératif de Recherche sur le Handicap) and the CTNERHI (Centre National d'Etudes et de Recherche sur les Handicaps et les Inadaptations) about the ICF. A first seminar, entitled ICF and Demography was held in Paris at the INED (Institut National d'Etudes Démographiques) on 10th January, 2006.
       

      Seule la page principale est consultable en libre accès. Cette page présente les activités communes à l'IFR H (Institut Fédératif de Recherche sur le Handicap) et au CTNERHI (Centre National d'Etudes et de Recherche sur les Handicaps et les Inadaptations) concernant la CIF (Classification Internationale du Fonctionnement, du Handicap et de la Santé). Un premier séminaire intitulé "CIF et Démographie" s'est tenu à l'INED (Institut National d'Etudes Démographiques), à Paris, le 10 janvier 2006.

    • The Collaborating Centre for the German language includes an ICF Research Branch. The development of disease specific subsets of ICF categories or core sets has been a major part of the work. A core set of ICF categories that are the intervention targets for physical therapy has been published (Finger ME, Cieza A, Stoll J, Stucki G, Huber EO.  Identification of intervention categories for physical therapy, based on the international classification of functioning, disability and health: a delphi exercise.  Phys Ther. 2006 Sep;86(9):1203-20)
       

      Other work involves the development of case studies to describe ICF use in spinal cord injury rehabilitation and collaborate in Europe wide research ventures such as Measuring health and disability in Europe (MHADIE) and Multidisciplinary Research Network on Health and Disability in Europe (MURINET)

  • Find ICF references

Biomedcentral is the publisher of 179 peer-reviewed open access journals . The research articles in all journals published by BioMed Central are immediately and permanently available online without charge. BioMed Central views open access to research as essential in order to ensure the rapid and efficient communication of research findings . Register for access to journals.

BioMed Central has just introduced a new information portal calling attention to the developing world's need for open access to the scientific and medical literature.

  • ICF checklist

The ICF checklist is a subset of the major categories in the ICF for use in clinical settings. The ICF checklist is a practical tool to elicit and record information on the functioning and disability of an individual.

Download the ICF checklist in Spanish, developed by The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO).

  • ICF Community of Practice

An ICF ‘Community of Practice’ website hosted by the Centre for International Rehabilitation Research Information and Exchange opened in 2006.

This website has similar facilities to the WCPT site. It hosts an ICF forum, for discussion of ICF related questions, a bulletin board, a list of resources and links to other websites with ICF content.

  • ICF education materials

A set of curriculum modules has been developed, upon which courses, lectures, workshops and courses of study can be built.  Download the curriculum modules for ICF education

  • ICF in Italy

Four ICF training slide sets (in Italian) are included on this website for the Disability in Italy Network (DIN).

  • ICF conferences

The North American Collaborating Centre for the Family of International Classifications hosts its annual meeting on the ICF in Canada and the USA in alternate years. The conference theme in 2010 was "Enhancing our understanding of ICF".  Information on previous meetings is available from the NCHS website.

The Nordic-Baltic ICF conference was held in Oslo on 4-5 June 2007 . The presentations can be accessed via the web.

  • Outcomes Calculator

The Centre for Allied Health Evidence together with the School of Computing Science (University of South Australia), has developed the Outcomes Calculator to facilitate the use of standardised outcome measures in clinical practice to monitor change in patient status over time.

The outcome measures contained within the Outcomes Calculator have been selected based on their validity, reliability, sensitivity to detect change over time and clinical utility for patient populations frequently treated by physiotherapists. They represent a range of aspects of functioning/disability, which are measured at the level of body functions/structure, the individual and society, as defined by the WHO’s International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF).

Order a copy of the outcomes calculator.

ICF photo contest image

Visual Resources

If you are producing slides or brochures featuring functioning and disability; in addition to the WCPT photograph album there are two resources that may be of interest; photographs from the WHO ICF photo contest and a library of illustrations for ICF domains.

  • WHO ICF photo contest

The ICF photo competition.  Images (black and white, coloured and digitally produced) covering the spectrum of disability across many cultures, may be downloaded from the WHO website.

 

  • ICF illustration library

The ICF illustration library is an illustrated website version of the ICF. It provides a simple and understandable way of navigating the structure and construction of ICF. The website includes Japanese, English and Spanish versions of the library. Access to each version is free, and it enables users to view the classification via a hierarchical structure with accompanying codes, text and illustrations. The pages on the site can potentially be used as a training aid for understanding the structure and composition of the ICF, as well as an online aid for using and interpreting the ICF classification system. Use of the illustrations in addition to the text result in more standardised interpretation of the classification and thus ensures consistency of its interpretation. Although the library has been specifically designed with dealing with elderly patients in mind, its design would also lend itself to being adapted for other patients groups and used in other cultural settings.

Updated on: Thu 18 Nov 2010