Development of a training programme in disability assessment methidology based on international classification of...

The new concept for social integration of people with disabilities pointed at the need to develop disability assessment methodology with the subsequent validization, based on modern approaches that conceptualise disability as arising from the interaction of a person's functional status with the physical, cultural and policy environments, therefore focussing on an individual's functional abilities. The academy of Swiss insurance medicine, ASIM, worked together with Georgian representatives to develop the principles of functional assessment and provide a method of applying these principles. As instrument for output specification the Mini ICF APP was selected, translated and back translated from German to Georgian. A training course of one day was conducted after which psychiatrists tested the approach in 5 cases each and suggested minor modifications of interpretation. After this they each performed 40 assessments with the new methodology. Doing the assessments with the new procedure was appreciated by all participants and provoked no problems. Being asked to fill out the Mini ICF form in a systematic fashion makes the reports more objective and transparent. The shift to a functional approach in evaluation of disability for work is practicable with the methodology ASIM has developed for this purpose and this fits with the present legislation. This approach could be used in other fields than psychiatry as well.