How does the ICF Disablement Model shape our profession as Physiotherapists?

How does the ICF Disablement Model shape our profession as Physiotherapists?

Nowadays, we hear more about the ICF (international classification of functioning) model, which was conceptualized by the World Health Organization in 2001, for the sake of building a framework for the health professions that care about the consequences of pathology on the human life experience. 

for decades, the focus of medicine and health professions was the identification of pathologies, which is known by Medical Diagnosis. Once the latter is identified using all kinds of tests (Xrays, lab tests, EMG, ECG...) the necessary treatments are then delivered to the patient.

This linear framework was the focus of all researchers and healthcare institutions until it stumbles with new emerging problems that it couldn't solve. 

What kind of problems that the pathology-based framework couldn't solve?

Imagine two persons are both diagnosed with a cerebrovascular accident that results in right hemiplegia. The first patient is a 59 years old male that works as a taxi driver and lives alone in an apartment on the third floor. After he got the stroke he became unable to work or to live independently in his house, he was forced to move to live with his brother.

The second patient is 87 years old female who is a grandmother and lives with her daughter in her house with her husband. This woman was in the first place depending on her daughter to do her activities of daily living. Although new responsibilities added to the daughter nothing big has changed in the life of our patient.

In our cases, both patients have the same medical diagnosis with the same symptoms, but the influence of their disease on their quality of life is totally different.

The old pathology-based framework fails to identify the consequences of the disease on the socio-economic situation of disabled persons, which is the number one concern of people more than the disease itself.

This is why the world health organization conceptualized the ICF Disablement model so that health professionals can identify these consequences and sort out with a new holistic and more social diagnosis for patients.

We will discuss further the ICF Model in a separate article, what is it? What are its components? And how can we use it in our practices effectively?

So, how does this model shape our profession as physiotherapists?

We as physiotherapists are known as the human movement experts, we care about the kinematics of the human body and its abnormalities, and how do different pathologies affect our human movement system. With the ICF model, we are now able to make a link between the disease and how it affects our body organs, which makes limitations on our daily activities which creates, in the end, a disablement at the society level.

What we need to know as professionals are that our patients care about their social status 25x times more than the pathology itself !!! So if we can make that link this will help us in many ways, and I think the engagement that we can gain from our patient is the best reward.

Conclusion :

The ICF disablement Model creates the physiotherapist diagnosis that helps in the creation of a more accurate and effective plan of care and treatments...we will discuss the physiotherapist diagnosis in a separate article as the foundation and the building block of our profession.

This model is our bridge with other rehabilitation professions and health professionals in a hasty manner. 

Also, it makes the process more clear to patients, which makes them more engaged in their curing process.

So that's why it is important for all physiotherapists to know this framework and to deepen our knowledge concerning it.

I will make a link to the WHO website for further investigation :

https://www.who.int/classifications/icf/en/

So what are your insights on the ICF disablement model? And are you able to implement it in your practice?

Younes Oummahya,