Identification of problems in individuals with spinal cord injury from the health professional perspective using the ICF: a worldwide expert survey.
METHODS
Worldwide Internet survey.


OBJECTIVE
The specific aims of the study were (1) to identify problems of individuals with SCI in the early post-acute and the long-term context, respectively, addressed by health professionals and (2) to summarize these problems using the ICF.


METHODS
International.


METHODS
Physicians, nurses, physical therapists, occupational therapists, social workers and psychologists were asked for problems in the functioning and contextual factors of individuals with SCI using open-ended questions. All answers were translated ('linked') to the ICF based on established rules. Absolute and relative frequencies of the linked ICF categories were reported stratified by the context.


RESULTS
Out of 243 selected experts, 144 (59.3%) named 7.650 different themes, of which 78.8% could be linked to ICF categories. In the early post-acute context, 30.7% of the 88 categories belonged to the component Body Functions, 14.8% to Body Structures, 30.7% to Activities and Participation and 23.9% to Environmental Factors. In all, 16 ICF categories were unique for the early post-acute context. In the long-term context, 27.2% of the 92 categories belonged to the component Body Functions, 13.0% to Body Structures, 35.9% to Activities and Participation and 23.9% to Environmental Factors. A total of 20 ICF categories were unique for the long-term context.


CONCLUSIONS
Health professionals identified a large variety of functional problems reflecting the complexity of SCI. Unique aspects of functioning exist for the early post-acute and the long-term context, respectively. The ICF provided a comprehensive framework to integrate answers from different professional backgrounds and different world regions.
Scheuringer
M
M
ICF Research Branch of the WHO FIC CC (DIMDI), Institute for Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Ludwig-Maximilian University, Munich, Germany.
Kirchberger
I
I
Boldt
C
C
Eriks-Hoogland
I
I
Rauch
A
A
Velstra
I-M
IM
Cieza
A
A
D000328:Adult; D003627:Data Interpretation, Statistical; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D005260:Female; D006282:Health Personnel / Q000145:classification / Q000523:psychology; D006305:Health Status Indicators; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007391:International Cooperation; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult