Original Research

Utilization of the ICF-CY for the Classification of Therapeutic Objectives in the Treatment of Spasticity in Children with Cerebral Palsy

Journal of Clinical Outcomes Management. 2014 November;21(11)

References

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Conclusion

As it has already been pointed out by various authors [10–15], the ICF-CY is a useful instrument for the classification of proposed therapeutic objectives into domains and categories, in order to standardize the language and to increase the sharing of the aims between the health care providers and between providers and families/patients. The most commonly followed approach calls for the use of functional profiles at the beginning of the care planning process, in order to establish the priorities and objectives of the interventions to be carried out. In order to streamline and facilitate procedures in clinical practice, many have proposed the use of core sets, but the validation procedure is complex and not always possible in all centers. Recently, Preston et al were the first to propose using the ICF-CY for classifying the objectives of an individual program. The procedure utilized is simple, easily reproducible, and allows identifying and classifying the objectives into categories using the ICF-CY. Furthermore, it is focused on an individual program and not on the entire articulation of programs, making interpretation of the data more linear. Our proposal is similar because it is focused on the analysis of an individual therapeutic program and because it utilizes the ICF classification system to classify the objectives; however, it achieves a higher degree of detail and standardization of the objectives.

In conclusion, the classification structure of the ICF-CY furnishes a useful and recognized instrument for categorizing the objectives of the interventions to be carried out. The classification of the objectives is specific for each pathology and for each individual program. The standardization of the objectives themselves and the use of the ICF-CY categories only for classification represents a possible methodologic alternative to the use of ICF-CY individual categories and sub-categories for identifying these objectives (core sets), as proposed by other authors. This procedure offers greater detail and a greater degree of standardization, which is important for the successive and systematic evaluation of treatment results.

Corresponding author: Nicoletta Battisti, Via Altura 3, 40139 Bologna, Italy, nbattisti@ausilioteca.org.