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N Kostanjsek

Publications and source records attributed to N Kostanjsek.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

The ICF comprehensively covers the spectrum of health problems encountered by health professionals in patients with musculoskeletal conditions.

OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study was to investigate, whether the International Classification of Functioning, Disablity and Health (ICF) comprehensively covers the spectrum of health problems encountered by medical doctors and physiotherapists in patients with musculoskeletal conditions. METHODS: A worldwide e-mail survey with questionnaires that requested lists of relevant areas in the ICF components-body functions, body structures, activities and participation, and environmental factors-in patients with rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, low back pain and osteoporosis was conducted. The suitability of linking the named concepts to the ICF as well as the precision of the linking was characterized by assigning the concepts to six groups. RESULTS: All concepts that were named by the experts could be linked to the ICF, with the exception of personal factors. Between 32% (environmental factors) and 51% (activities and participation) of the named concepts were linked to an ICF category with an identical meaning and the same grade of precision. All other named concepts were linked to ICF categories with a lower level of precision, or encompassed more than one ICF category, or were linked to an ICF category with a related, but not identical meaning. CONCLUSIONS: The ICF covers comprehensively the spectrum of problems encountered in patients with musculoskeletal conditions by clinical experts throughout the world. This strengthens the validity of the ICF in the view of the users and will encourage the use of ICF-based applications such as the ICF checklist and the now-developed ICF Core Sets.

Activities of Daily Living↗

Developing core sets for persons with spinal cord injuries based on the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health as a way to specify functioning.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this paper is to outline the proposed development process for the ICF Core Sets for Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) and to invite clinical and consumer experts to actively participate in this process. ICF Core Sets are selections of categories of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) that are relevant to persons with a specific condition or in a specific setting. METHOD: The project is a cooperation between the ICF Research Branch of the World Health Organization (WHO) Collaboration Centre of the Family of International Classifications (DIMDI, Germany), the Classification, Assessment and Terminology (CAT) team and the Disability and Rehabilitation (DAR) team at WHO, the International Spinal Cord Society (ISCoS) and International Society for Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine (ISPRM) and partner institutions across the world. The project will consist of four worldwide studies to be conducted from 2006 to 2007 with a proposed ICF Core Set Consensus Conference to be held in 2007. ICF categories relevant for SCI are to be identified by means of (I) an empirical study, (II) a systematic review of outcomes and measures used in SCI research (III) an expert survey and (IV) focus groups and semistructured interviews with persons with SCI. Consensus about items that have to be part of a Comprehensive and of a Brief ICF Core Set for SCI will be reached in a final ICF Core Set Consensus Conference. Subsequent field testing will be necessary to validate this first version of ICF Core Sets for SCI. INVITATION FOR PARTICIPATION: The development of ICF Core Sets is an inclusive and open process. Anyone who wishes to actively participate in this process is invited to contact the project coordinator (Monika.Scheuringer@med.uni-muenchen.de or http://www.icf-research-branch.org/research/spinalcord-injuries.htm). Individuals, institutions and associations can be formally associated as partners of the project.

Database Management Systems↗

Linking osteoarthritis-specific health-status measures to the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health (ICF).

OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study was to link the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities (WOMAC) and Lequesne-Algofunctional indices to the ICF on the basis of linking rules developed specifically to accomplish this aim. The linking process enables the understanding of the relationship between health-status measures and the ICF. METHODS: Since the fifth World Health Organisation/International Liege Against Rheumatism (WHO/ILAR) Task Force and the Outcome Measures in Rheumatology Clinical Trials (OMERACT) group recommend the use of WOMAC and the Lequesne-Algofunctional indices in patients with osteoarthritis of the hip and knee in clinical trials, these two health-status measures have been used in this study. Both health-status measures were linked to the ICF separately by two trained health professionals. Consensus between health professionals was used to decide which ICF category should be linked to each item/concept of the two questionnaires. To resolve disagreements between the two health professionals, a third person trained in the linking rules was consulted. RESULTS: Except for the concept of 'morning stiffness', both health professionals agreed on the ICF category chosen to link all the items/concepts of both questionnaires. Altogether, 29 different ICF categories have been linked. Five ICF categories belong to the ICF component 'body functions', 23 categories to the component 'activities and participation', and one category to 'environmental factors'. Both questionnaires have 10 ICF categories in common. CONCLUSIONS: The results of the linking process reflect both the structure of the two questionnaires studied and the relationship between them, showing that the ICF classification can become the cardinal reference for existing health-status measures.

Activities of Daily Living↗

The International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health: a new tool for understanding disability and health.

Reliable and timely information about the health of populations is part of the World Health Organization's mandate in the development of international public health policy. To capture data concerning functioning and disability, or non-fatal health outcomes, WHO has recently published the revised International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF). In this article, the authors briefly outline the revision process and discuss the rationale for the ICF and the needs that it serves in rehabilitation. The ICF is shown to be an essential tool for identifying and measuring efficacy and effectiveness of rehabilitation services, both through functional profiling and intervention targeting. Existing applications of the ICF in rehabilitation are then surveyed. The ICF, in short, offers an international, scientific tool for understanding human functioning and disability for clinical, research, policy development and a range of other public health uses.

Activities of Daily Living↗