title: Using the ICF to code and analyse women's disability narratives.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This article describes the use of the World Health Organization's (WHO) International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) as a conceptual framework for processing and analyzing the narratives of 50 community-dwelling women with a spinal cord injury. The women were participants in a federally-funded study of stress and coping over the life course.
  
  
  METHODS
  The paper describes the development of a coding scheme and data reduction techniques used to process qualitative data.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The initial results of three phases of data analysis are then presented: (i) the construction of matrices to display data so as to permit pattern finding; (ii) the mapping of specific ICF codes to text to produce a more finely grained analysis of environment-related stressors, and (iii) a thematic analysis of text depicting the dynamics of person-environment interaction.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Of potential value to the further elaboration of the ICF is a fleshing out of the personal factors component of the ICF and the provision of a context-driven, process view of person-environment interaction. It is hoped that this article will stimulate continued discussion of person-level factors. The concept of coupling suggests also a need to focus research attention on the bi-directional and ever evolving linkages connecting person to environment.
authors.affiliation: Rehabilitation Institute of Michigan, Detroit, Michigan 48201, USA. cduggan@dmc.org
authors.forename: Colette H
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Duggan
authors.forename: Kathie J
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Albright
authors.forename: Anthony
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lequerica
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D006233:Persons with Disabilities / Q000145:classification* / Q000534:rehabilitation; D036262:Empirical Research; D004777:Environment; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D038801:International Classification of Diseases; D008875:Middle Aged; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D033262:Narration; D036301:Qualitative Research; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000145:classification / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D014944:World Health Organization