Spirituality and the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health: content comparison of questionnaires measuring mindfulness based on the International Classification of Functioning

Abstract

Purpose. To identify and compare the concepts contained in questionnaires measuring mindfulness using the International Classification of Functioning (ICF) as external reference.

Method. Questionnaires which are published in peer-reviewed journals and listed in Pubmed or PsycInfo were included. The questionnaires were analysed and, using a content-analytical approach, the respective items were categorised and linked to the ICF.

Results. Ten questionnaires were included. Ninety-four per cent (N  ==  341) of the concepts could be linked to 37 different ICF categories. One hundred and seventy-one (50.1%%) concepts were linked to ICF categories of the component Body Function, 74 (21.7%%) to categories of the component Activity and Participation and none to categories of the component Environmental Factors. In total, 28.2%% of the linked concepts belonged to Personal factors, which are not yet classified in the ICF. The questionnaires exhibited considerable differences regarding content density (i.e. the average number of concepts per item) and content diversity (i.e. the number of ICF categories per concept).

Conclusions. The ICF provides an useful external reference to identify and compare the concepts contained in mindfulness questionnaires. Also, mindfulness questionnaire concepts suggest potentially useful factors for classification within the ICF.

Keywords:

• Mindfulness
• spirituality
• outcome assessment
• International Classification of Functioning
• content analysis

Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.