Internationale Zeitschrift für Physikalische Medizin und Rehabilitation
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Development of an ICF Core Set Based Instrument for Individuals with Non-traumatic Spinal Cord Injury

Juliana Nogueira Coelho, Camila de Almeida, Patricia Carla Vianna, Vitor Faeda Dalto, Fabiana Faleiros Santana Castro, Soraia Assad Nasbine Rabeh and Marcelo Riberto

Introduction: The International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF), describes the functioning and individuals with particular health condition and how context factors can modulate it. The nontraumatic spinal cord injury (NTSCI) has several effects on the functioning. The ICF Core Set for spinal cord injury (CSSCI) can be an innovative assessment of people with NTSCI functioning, but has not been applied in this context and there are no standardization proposals for its implementation.

Objective: To develop a user-friendly instrument based in the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health core set for spinal cord injury (CSSCI) to operationalize functioning data of non-traumatic patients.

Method: By studying, the particular uses of CSSCI categories to non-traumatic individuals, the researchers developed specific questions with richly described answer alternatives according with the descriptions of ICF qualifiers. For some categories, validated instruments were adapted, for some others new questions were formulated.

Results: A questionnaire containing 43 sub-items was developed covering aspects of 9 body functions, 4 body structures, 21 activities and participation and 9 environmental factors. Health professional who tested it did not report difficulties to understand or apply the questionnaire, although it may time consuming.

Conclusion: Besides proposing a method to develop ICF based questionnaires, this study developed a functional assessment tool that is very broad in the evaluation of functioning and adds the impact of environmental factors on the overall experience of disability.