Abstract
BackgroundThe International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health (ICF) is a unified system of functioning terminology that has been used to develop electronic health records and assessment instruments. Its application has been limited, however, by its complex terminology, numerous categories, uncertain operationalization, and the training required to use it well. Together is a mobile health app designed to extend medical support to the families of spinal cord injury (SCI) patients in China. The app’s core framework is a set of only 31 ICF categories. The app also provides rating guidelines and automatically transforms routine assessment results to the terms of the ICF qualifiers.ObjectiveThe goal of the research is to examine the suitability of the ICF set used in the app Together for use as an instrument for assessing the functioning of SCI patients.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted including 112 SCI patients recruited before discharge from four rehabilitation centers in China between May 2018 and October 2019. Nurses used the app to assess patient functioning in face-to-face interviews. The resulting data were then subjected to Rasch analysis.ResultsAfter deleting two categories (family relationships and socializing) and one personal factor (knowledge about spinal cord injury) that did not fit the Rasch model, the body functions and body structures, activities and participation, and contextual factors components of the ICF exhibited adequate fit to the Rasch model. All three demonstrated acceptable person separation indices. The 28 categories retained in the set were free of differential item functioning by gender, age, education level, or etiology.ConclusionsTogether overcomes some of the obstacles to practical application of the ICF. The app is a reliable assessment tool for assessing functioning after spinal cord injury.
Highlights
The International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health (ICF) is a unified system of terminology for multidisciplinary use issued in 2001 by the World Health Organization (WHO)
The 31 ICF categories belonged to body functions and body structures (15), activities and participation (10), and contextual factors (6)
There was no differential item functioning for any of the ICF categories by gender, age, education level, or etiology. These results indicate the suitability of the app-based ICF set as an assessment tool for assessing the functioning of spinal cord injury (SCI) patients
Summary
The International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health (ICF) is a unified system of terminology for multidisciplinary use issued in 2001 by the World Health Organization (WHO). It provides a consensus framework for defining functioning and disability and their interrelationships with health conditions and contextual factors [1]. The International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health (ICF) is a unified system of functioning terminology that has been used to develop electronic health records and assessment instruments. Objective: The goal of the research is to examine the suitability of the ICF set used in the app Together for use as an instrument for assessing the functioning of SCI patients. The app is a reliable assessment tool for assessing functioning after spinal cord injury
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