Is the World Health Organization (WHO) International Classification ofFunctioning, Disability and Health (ICF) relevant to ergonomics?

摘要

The International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) was published by the World Health Organization in 2001 to provide a standardized description of health and health-related states (WHO 2001). The ICF classifies functioning and disability associated with health conditions at the levels of body/body parts, the whole person and the person in their environmental context. The ICF is a multipurpose classification that can be used by different disciplines and sectors to provide a scientific basis and common language for the description of health and health related states, outcomes and determinants. ICF data enables comparison across countries, disciplines and time, and provides a coding system for health information (WHO 2001). The ICF is not a tool for assessment, but rather it provides the basis for such tools as well as a framework to which these tools can be related, thus building up a more complete picture of how a person lives. This paper will provide an overview of this international classification, give examples of itsuse in national data collections as well as detail its relevance to ergonomic research and practice.