Dear Colleague,
The American Psychological Association (APA), in conjunction with the World Health Organization (WHO) and collaborating professional associations, is developing a Manual for the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF). The ICF, with a focus on human functioning, provides a system to enable classification of the components of functioning that are impacted by a health condition. In other words, it is a tool that enables the collection of data as to how people with a health condition function in daily life, not only their diagnoses or the presence or absence of disease. It does not classify diseases, disorders or injuries. The ICF Manual has been developed specifically for health professionals to facilitate implementation of the ICF in a reliable manner in clinical settings.
The APA has developed an online review process for health professionals to provide comment and feedback on the ICF Manual. We would be delighted if you would accept this invitation to participate in the process. If you are interested in participating, please go to http://icf.apa.org and register. Once registered, you can provide valuable comments and feedback on the ICF codes and related Manual content relevant to your professional experiences.
Reviewers begin by registering on-line and responding to demographic and professional practice questions. All registered reviewers new to the ICF are asked to view the 'Introduction' chapter of the manual and introductory PowerPoint presentation. Afterwards, registered reviewers:The ICF contains hundreds of codes and we prefer that you comment on fewer codes but with more detail than attempt to review many codes with less careful review.
Upon reviewing any code, the reviewer will be asked to respond to a series of questions regarding the additional content related to that code. In addition, the reviewer has the option of providing additional feedback on any aspect of the code and can provide general comments on each chapter as well. Reviewers can enter and exit the electronic review system as often as necessary before finishing their review of the Manual content. The system will automatically save and retain all the comments provided by a reviewer but the reviewer can return to previously viewed items and add additional comments as desired.
At present, the 'Introduction' and 'Body Functions' section of the Manual is available for review. The remaining sections will come online soon. We will send all participants notices about new content available for review.
Please be advised that the design of the site may undergo slight changes while you may be reviewing the ICF Manual. However, the functionality of the site should remain unchanged.
All registered reviewers will be notified of any comment deadlines as the review process moves forward. If you have questions or comments, please email us at icf@apa.org and we will contact you as soon as possible.
Sincerely,
Lynn F. Bufka, PhD American Psychological Association
Along with our collaborating professional associations: American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA), American Physical Therapy Association (APTA), American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA), American Therapeutic Recreation Association (ATRA), National Association of Social Workers (NASW).