Family of International Classifications the International Classification

¶ … Family of International Classifications

The International Classification of Diseases (ICD) is a system of disease classification adopted by World Health Organization members. The ICD, now in its tenth revision, was adopted in 1967. The WHO Nomenclature Regulations require the use of ICD in its most current revision to report mortality and morbidity statistics by all Member States (World Health Organization, 2011).

The ICD is the international standard diagnostic classification for all general epidemiological use; it is also used for many health management purposes as well as clinical use. These uses include the analysis of the general health situation of population groups along with the monitoring of the incidence and prevalence of diseases and other health problems, as they relate to other variables including the characteristics and circumstances of the individuals affected, resource allocation and so forth (World Health Organization, 2011).

The ICD is used to classify diseases and other health problems that are recorded on many types of health and vital records, including death certificates and health records. The classification system enables the storage and retrieval of diagnostic information for clinical, epidemiological and quality purposes. The records also provide the basis for the compilation of national mortality and morbidity statistics by WHO Member States (World Health Organization, 2011). Examples of ICD-10 codes include S00-S09, Injuries to the head, and J00-J06, Acute upper respiratory infections (World Health Organization, 2011).

The International Classification of Functioning, Disability and health (ICF) is a classification system of health and health-related domains. The domains are classified from body, individual and societal perspectives by means of two lists: a list of body functions and structures, and a list of domains of activity and participation. Given that an individual's functioning and disability occur in a context, the ICF also includes a list of environmental factors (World Health Organization, 2011).

The ICF is WHO's framework for measuring health and disability at both individual and population levels. Unlike its predecessor, which was endorsed for field trial purposes only, the ICF was endorsed for use in Member States as the international standard to describe and measure health and disability (World Health Organization, 2011).

The ICF describes the notions of health and disability from a new perspective. It acknowledges that every human being can experience a decrement in health, and thereby experience some degree of disability. The ICF recognizes that disability is not something that only happens to a minority of humanity. The ICF therefore mainstreams the experience of disability and recognizes it as a universal human experience (World Health Organization, 2011). Examples of ICF codes b440 Respiratory functions, and d315 Communicating with -- receiving -- nonverbal messages.

The purpose of the International Classifications of Health Interventions (ICHI) is to provide Member States, health care service providers and organizers, and researchers with a common tool for reporting and analyzing the distribution and evolution of health interventions for statistical purposes. The ICHI is intended to cover a wide range of measures taken for curative and preventive purposes by medical, surgical and other health-related care services (World Health Organization, 2011).