Utilizing the ICF to Enable Evidence-Based Practice Among Vocational Rehabilitation Counselors

Abstract

The World Health Organization’s (WHO) International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) provides an appropriate framework for conceptualizing cases within vocational rehabilitation (VR) programs. VR counselors can improve service delivery by using the framework and tools of the ICF, including the World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule 2.0 (WHODAS 2.0), the ICF Checklist 2.1, and the ICF Core Sets. VR counselors can more readily begin the initial step of evidence-based practice (i.e., formulating well-defined, answerable questions) by using the ICF framework and its tools to identify and categorize common barriers and facilitators among VR consumers. The ICF framework and its tools are described in relation to their potential utilization in VR practice. In addition, specific case examples are given, describing how VR counselors can incorporate ICF perspectives and tools into their practice. The authors briefly describe training resources, future directions, and other considerations for the use of the ICF in VR settings.

The ICF twenty years later

“…The major ICF contribution to VR is that it offers an excellent standard structure for analyzing, planning, and pursuing an effective rehabilitation process. Research, however, seems to show that the utilization of ICF in this setting by VR counselors is limited [16,17]. Why this is so is unclear at the present time.…”