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of functioning,
disability and health - icf
“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:
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:
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
The pocket-sized version contains main 2 level codes (max. 99 per list) for practical purposes. Available in English only.
ICF on CD-ROM
The Cd-Rom includes ICF in six official WHO and other languages and provides the following functionalities: