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The following is a suggested checklist for new users.
1. Start by reading Section 2 to ensure a broad understanding of the ICF.
It is almost certain that, if you go beyond this step, you will need a copy of the ICF itself (see Section 11 for details on how to obtain it).
2. Think about how your ideas and information needs fit the ICF framework.
For example:
What do you need to know about functioning and disability?
What conclusions do you want to be able to make, or what hypotheses do you want to test? List up to 10 of these, in fairly plain language.
Can you relate the underlying ideas you are working with to the ICF framework (Figure 2.1)? Are you interested in some or all of the following: impairment? participation? activity? environment? What will be missing if you do not use all components?
Who will be interested in the results? What questions will they ask? How detailed is the information they will seek?
3. At what level do you want to use the ICF?
For instance:
Do
you want to use the ICF as a framework to organise thoughts and
ensure that major factors of interest are not omitted from a plan,
explanation, argument or set of information?
Section 2 of this document
is a useful starting point, but you will probably still need to examine the
chapter headings in the ICF itself.
Do
you want to use the ICF classification, perhaps as a menu to select the
domains most relevant to the information you need. Then, at which level
do you want to use the classification: chapter level (for instance, 'mobility'),
at block level (for instance, 'walking and moving'), second-level
category (for instance, 'walking') or third-level category (for
instance, 'walking short distances')?
See Section 2. See also Section
10 for applications using the ICF in data collections.
Do
you want to use the ICF qualifiers, for instance, to develop a
measurement, or to assist a researcher select a scale that is either
directly related to the ICF or that ensures the data collected will map to
an ICF qualifier?
In this case, you need to read the ICF itself and Section
2, Section 5 and Section 7 of this guide. You should also refer to
Section 10 where current
users illustrate their approach to these issues.
4. What information is already available?
It is always worth investigating whether the information you need already exists. Visit the web sites of bodies such as the AIHW and the ABS. See also the AIHW Data Starter (AIHW, ACROD & NCDCO 2000).
5. What can be learnt from other similar applications?
See Section 10.
6. How can you share your ideas with other interested users?
Refer to specific sections with templates (Section 5 and Section 6).
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