This post is the first from a new blogger on the site. Cath Cruse-Drew's first post explores the use of categories in physiotherapy. There's some more information about Cath at the bottom of this post. I have often wondered why Physios, Physio educators and Physio managers align our profession with the categorisation of illness and disability. Thomas Sydenham started the diagnostic ball rolling in his ‘Observationes Medicae’ in 1676, his ‘carving nature at its joints’ was thought to be a methodically sound and scientific approach that matched the ideas of the biological sciences of the day in the classification of plants and animals. Thus, the idea of difference in medicine began. … [Read more...] about Categories
Catherine Sykes – The ICF – 30DoS #10
Published in 2001 the World Health Organization’s International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) has stimulated a change in understanding of what is understood as human functioning and the role of the environment in the experience of functioning. I was involved in the development of ICF and have continued to work on the implementation of the model and classifications in health and social welfare data collections. Whilst the model has informed the education and practice of physical therapists the adoption of the classification for statistics has been slow. Why? Some argue that it is too detailed, too complicated. The key to ICF is to keep the individual as the … [Read more...] about Catherine Sykes – The ICF – 30DoS #10