International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF)
The International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health, known more commonly as ICF, is a classification of health and health-related domains.
As the functioning and disability of an individual occurs in a context, ICF also includes a list of environmental factors.
ICF is the WHO framework for measuring health and disability at both individual and population levels.
ICF was officially endorsed by all 191 WHO Member States in the Fifty-fourth World Health Assembly on 22 May 2001(resolution WHA 54.21) as the international standard to describe and measure health and disability.
ICF is based on the same foundation as ICD and ICHI and share the same set of extension codes that enable documentation at a higher level of detail.
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A technician fits Ismail, 17, from Qamishli, for a prosthetic foot
A technician fits Ismail, 17, from Qamishli, for a prosthetic foot
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Credits
Online resources
List of official ICF updates
Official updates to the ICF are available as annual lists of changes.
These updates are approved annually at the October meeting of the WHO Family of International Classifications (WHO-FIC) Network.
Additional resources
The provision of a link from the WHO website to other sites does not indicate endorsement of those sites by WHO, and WHO accepts no responsibility for the validity or accuracy of their content.
Licensing or translating ICF
To license ICF, the same rules apply for ICF as for ICD.
If you are interested in translating ICF into a language not currently available, please contact icf at who.int.
Merging ICF-CY into ICF
The International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health for Children and Youth (ICF-CY) has been fully merged back into the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF).
The ICF-CY should no longer be used and is no longer supported.
The below document outlines that decision and provides additional detail about the process.