Identification of relevant ICF categories by geriatric patients in an early post-acute rehabilitation facility

To describe functioning and health of elderly patients in an early post-acute rehabilitation facility and to identify the most common problems using the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF).

Cross-sectional survey in a convenience sample of elderly patients requiring rehabilitation in an early post-acute rehabilitation facility. The second-level categories of the ICF were used to collect information on patients' problems. For the ICF components Body Functions, Body Structures and Activities and Participation, absolute and relative frequencies of impairments/limitations in the study population were reported. For the component Environmental Factors absolute and relative frequencies of perceived barriers or facilitators were reported.

The mean age in the sample was 79.9 years. Sixty-nine percent of the patients were female. In 150 patients, 82 ICF categories (34%) had a prevalence of 30% or above. The 82 categories included 22 categories (45%) of the component Body Functions, six categories (15%) of the component Body Structures, 25 categories (34%) of the component Activities and Participation and 29 (57%) categories of the component Environmental Factors.

This study is a first step towards the development of ICF Core Sets for geriatric patients in early post-acute rehabilitation facilities.