Is there evidence of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health in undergraduate nursing students' patient assessments?

How Nurses are Using the International Classifi cation of Functioning, Disability and Health: An Integrative Review

Aim: The purpose of this study is to report the results of an integrative review of use of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) by nurses. This review is justified by the need for further investigation into use of the ICF in nursing, by nurses, so as to contribute to dialogue for the development of global, interdisciplinary and classification system comprehension. Methods: This integrative review included studies from 2001 to May 2015 in peer-reviewed journals. Two reviewers independently screened titles and abstracts for inclusion and completed data extraction. The papers were sourced from a number of electronic databases: MEDLINE/NML/PubMed, Web of Science, LILACS, CINAHL and SCIELO. Results: Twenty-six articles were included. Three themes on use of the ICF were identified: clinical nursing practice; teaching nursing students and nurses; and nursing research. Conclusion: This review helps nurses to visualise how and in what care environments the ICF is being used. It demonstrates the ICF has been used specifically in the rehabilitation nursing field, but offers some evidence of its use in occupational health as well.

Systematic literature review on ICF from 2001 to 2009: its use, implementation and operationalisation

PURPOSE

To present a systematic literature review on the state of the art of the utilisation of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) since its release in 2001.

METHOD

The search was conducted through EMBASE, MEDLINE and PsychInfo covering the period between 2001 and December 2009. Papers were included if ICF was mentioned in title or abstract. Papers focussing on the ICF-CY and clinical research on children and youth only were excluded. Papers were assigned to six different groups covering the wide scenario of ICF application.

RESULTS

A total of 672 papers, coming from 34 countries and 211 different journals, were included in the analysis. The majority of publications (30.8%) were conceptual papers or papers reporting clinical and rehabilitation studies (25.9%). One-third of the papers were published in 2008 and 2009.

CONCLUSIONS

The ICF contributed to the development of research on functioning and on disability in clinical, rehabilitation as well as in several other contexts, such as disability eligibility and employment. Diffusion of ICF research and use in a great variety of fields and scientific journals is a proof that a cultural change and a new conceptualisation of functioning and disability is happening.

Combined application of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health and the NANDA-International Taxonomy II

AIM

This paper presents a discussion of the conceptual and practical relationships between the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health and the NANDA-International Taxonomy II for nursing diagnoses, and their use in nursing practice.

BACKGROUND

The ICF provides a common classification framework for all healthcare professionals, including nurses. Nursing care plans can be broadly based on NANDA-I taxonomies. No published attempt has been made to systematically compare the NANDA-I Taxonomy II to the ICF.

DATA SOURCES

The most recently published descriptions of both classifications and a case example presenting the combined use of both classifications. The work was carried out in 2009.

DISCUSSION

There are conceptual commonalities and differences between the ICF and the NANDA-I Taxonomy II. In the case example, the overlap between the ICF categories and NANDA-I nursing diagnoses reflects the fact that the ICF, focusing on functioning and disability, and the NANDA-I Taxonomy II, with its functioning health patterns, are similar in their approaches.

IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING

The NANDA-I Taxonomy II permits the fulfilment of requirements that are exclusively nursing issues. The application of the ICF is useful for nurses to communicate nursing issues with other healthcare professionals in a common language. For nurses, knowledge shared with other healthcare professionals may contribute to broader understanding of a patient's situation.

CONCLUSION

The ICF and the NANDA-I Taxonomy II should be used in concert by nurses and can complement each other to enhance the quality of clinical team work and nursing practice.

[Functional (in)dependence in the dependent relationship of quadriplegic men with their (un)replaceable parents/caregivers]

The objective of this study was to identify elements of the international classification of functioning, disability and health, applicable to quadriplegic men's home care, to reduce the dependence on their parents' help for activities of daily living and self-care. Data were collected from June 2004 to March 2005. Semi-structured interviews were performed with eight adults with high spinal cord lesions who were being cared for at home. Content analysis was performed based on the categories of meaning extrapolated and the following themes were discovered: family support: safety for the corporal functions of the disabled; supporting technology: inventiveness to promote quality care; fears, uncertain future and parents' loss: thresholds and human fragilities; and functional gains: objective response of body functions. In conclusion, family support, and especially the presence of parents, is fundamental to facing limitations and to reacting in the search for balance with the deficiency, disability, disadvantage and health of that population, preparing them to achieve gradual functional gain and independence for daily activities and self-care.