NEW WHO BOOK

The international classification

Order no. 0990011

“Looking beyond mortality and disease - a common language to describe health”

As a new member of WHO Family of International Classification, ICF describes health and health-related domains as body functions and structures, activities and participation. The domains are classified from body, individual and societal perspectives. Since an individual’s functioning and disability occur in a context, ICF also includes a list of environmental factors.

ICF is useful to understand and measure health outcomes. It can be used in clinical settings, health services or surveys at the individual or population level. Thus ICF complements ICD-10, The International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems and therefore is looking beyond mortality and disease.

ICF and ICD-10

ICF and ICD-10 are complementary and together they form the WHO Family of International Classifications.

ICD-10 provides a “diagnosis” of diseases, disorders or other health conditions, and it is enriched by ICF, which provides additional information on functioning.

Together, information on diagnosis (ICD-10) plus functioning (ICF) provides a broader and more meaningful picture of health of people or populations and allows more rational allocation decisions and evidence-based policy making.

ICF provides a detailed classification with definitions:

• Body functions are the physiological functions of body systems (including psychological functions).
• Body structures are anatomical parts of the body such as organs, limbs and their components.
• Activity is the execution of a task or action by an individual.
• Participation is involvement in a life situation.
• Environmental factors make up the physical, social and attitudinal environment in which people live and conduct their lives.

ICF is the international standard for health and disability related data and serves as the reference text for the conceptualization of health of health. ICF is recommended for use:

• as a statistical tool for collecting and recording data,
• as a research tool for measuring outcomes (e.g. health outcomes, quality of life) or environmental factors,
• as a clinical tool for assessing needs, matching treatments with specific conditions, rehabilitation,
• as a social policy tool in planning social security, compensation systems and policy formulation,
• as an education tool for designing curricula and raising awareness, prevention and health promotion.

In view of the differing needs of different types of users, ICF is presented in multiple formats and versions:

ICF Full Version

A conclusive volume with glossary definitions and the full list of codes including all details. Available in all official WHO languages (Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish).

ICF Pocket Version

ICF on CD-ROM

The Cd-Rom includes ICF in six official WHO and other languages and provides the following functionalities:

1. Allows browsing the classification in its tree structure
2. Can display two languages at the same time
3. Provides advanced search functions
4. Cross-references via hyperlinks
5. Allows the user to select and work on subsets of the classification
6. Internet-based upgrading facility which allows incorporating future modifications in the classification and additional language versions
7. Allows user to send comments and feedback to WHO