The international mICF working group works for the Functioning and Disability Reference Group (FDRG) of the World Health Organization – Family of International Classifications (WHO-FIC) and has been asked to develop a mobile solution that helps people experiencing health problems to describe their needs in their own words. These descriptions and explanations can then be accessed and used by medical and non-medical technical staff to align and optimize the support, therapy and treatment based on a participatory decision-making process.
mICF
mICF is…
…an initiative that addresses the person-centred description of functionality and needs from the perspective of the person, rather than from its inherent health status and life situation. mICF uses the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) as a framework for describing and organizing information on functioning and disability and sees the functioning and disability as an interplay between the person and its environment.
What mICF offers
mICF seeks to combine ICF-codes – the units of the ICF classification – with our everyday language. The mICF-working group has therefore developed the »FunctionMapper« - a mobile solution of mICF (mICF App). This FunctionMapper can automatically translate functional impairment and needs into ICF codes. It can also be used for other applications and mobile solutions that aim to collect ICF-based information.
The person can choose with whom the collected data in the mICF app is to be shared. The FunctionMapper structures the data, relates the data entry of the person and communicates this to health professionals. The FunctionMapper itself does not collect any data.
A key advantage for technical experts that aim to collect ICF-based information, is that ICF-coded information is made accessible for further use and provides a base for the future conversation with the patient. It is a time saver, corresponds to the WHO guidelines on the utilization of ICF and aids in the process of structuring the patient’s information.
The mICF working group has incorporated the FunctionMapper in existing apps – a strategy to demonstrate the use of the FunctionMapper in surveys and forwarding of patient’s responses to technical experts.
Duration: 2015 – 2020
Principal Investigator: Prof. Dr. phil. Liane Simon
