Describing functioning of stroke patients with ICF.

Background and Aims: Stroke remains a major health issue that will increase in the future, despite the improvements in prevention and acute management of patients. This cross-sectional study aimed to demonstrate that stroke diagnosis alone does not explain variety in patients’ function- ing and disability and that ICF biopsychosocial model is essential to com- plement diagnostic information. Material and Method: 111 adult patients with stroke were enrolled for this study conducted by Foundation IRCCS Neurological Institute Carlo Besta of Milan. Patients with psychiatric disorders and/or severe cognitive impairments were excluded. The ICF Brief Core Set for stroke was used to create patients’ functioning profiles. Result: Most frequently reported problems in Body Functions were in memory, muscle power and attention functions. In the Activity and Participation domain the main difficulties were in walking, speaking and understanding. Principal differences between capacity and performance qualifiers, representing the impact of environment on activities and par- ticipation, were found in self-care (washing oneself and dressing). The immediate family and health professionals are the main Environmental facilitators for our patients. Conclusion: Functioning and disability after stroke are strictly related not only to disease but also to the presence or absence of environmental facilitators that increase persons’ performance and social participation. ICF Classification, specifically the ICF Brief Core Set for stroke, helps to record accurately the main problematic areas in functioning and in the categories of the activity and participation domain of people after stroke.