ICF Personal Factors Strengthen Commitment to Person-Centered Rehabilitation – A Scoping Review

Abstract

Background: The International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) classification is a biopsychosocial frame of reference that contributes to a holistic understanding of the functioning of a client and the factors involved. Personal factors (PFs) are not currently classified in the ICF due to large societal and cultural diversity and lack of clarity in the scope of such factors.Aims: To ascertain which factors in the ICF classification have been defined as PFs in different studies and what conclusions have been drawn on their role in the ICF classification.Methods: The study was a scoping review. A systematic search for articles published in 2010–2020 was performed on the Cinahl, Pubmed, ScienceDirect, and Sport Discus databases. The PFs specified in the articles were classified according to the seven categories proposed by Geyh et al. socio-demographic factors; position in the immediate social and physical context; personal history and biography; feelings; thoughts and beliefs; motives; and general patterns of experience and behavior.Results: The search yielded 1,988 studies, of which 226 met the inclusion criteria. The studies had addressed a wide variety of PFs that were linked to all seven categories defined by Geyh et al. Some studies had also defined PFs that were linkable to other components of the ICF or that did not describe functioning. Approximately 22% (51) of the studies discussed the role of PFs in rehabilitation.Conclusions: The range of PFs in the ICF classification addressed in the reviewed studies is wide. PFs play an important role in rehabilitation. However, according to the reviewed studies, a more precise coding of PFs is not yet warranted.

Risk and resilience in developmental diversity: Protocol of developing ICF core sets

“…Some classification systems have been developed by others, such as those by Geyh et al (2019) and Grotkamp et al (2020). The Grotkamp classification system was selected for this Core Set development because they present a more comprehensive classification (Karhula et al, 2021). Relatedly, there may be ambiguity as to what constitutes a personal factor (Simeonsson et al, 2014), and there is overlap between those considered “personal” and those coded in the ICF (Grotkamp et al, 2020).…”

Developing and Implementing ICF-Based Tools for Occupational Rehabilitation Supporting the Communication and Return to Work Process Between Sickness Absentees, Clinical Team and Jobcentre Contacts

“…The ICF seeks to address health and functioning as a relationship between health condition, body functions and structures, activities, participation, environmental factors and personal factors ( 2 ). The latter are not classified in the ICF coding system mainly due to ethical aspects related to such factors as well as challenges reaching common factors based on societal and cultural diversity ( 3 ).…”

Personal factors understood through the Ecological-Enactive Model of Disability and implications for rehabilitation research

“…Research on the role of contextual factors often emphasizes the environmental factors component of context (12)(13)(14)(15)(16), rather than the personal factors component. However, some disability scholars have argued that personal factors are the greatest contributors to chronic illness and disability (17-19), as they can alter an individual's commitment to participation in rehabilitation and explicate an individual's hopes and desires that shape their experience (20). The recognition of the important role that personal factors play on a person's disability experience has been central to ongoing discussions about reconceptualizing the ICF (21,22).…”

“…Despite the substantial impact that personal factors have on the lived experience of disability, there is wide debate regarding the identification of personal factors in rehabilitation literature (20,(23)(24)(25), and many factors identified as personal factors can actually be linked to other ICF levels (e.g., a body structure impairment is identified as a personal factor) (20). Nguyen et al (25) suggested that full implementation and translation of the ICF in rehabilitation is impeded by current lack of clarity about the specific impact of personal factors on disability.…”

“…Thus, there is a need to more precisely define personal factors and understand how their interaction with environmental factors creates the contextual conditions where function and disability develop. Without a comprehensive understanding of the entanglement of personal and environmental factors, the ICF risks a disregard for the life context of an individual, limits autonomy and subjectivity, and can be viewed as "unhumanized" (20,24,26,27).…”