The ICF and Labour Policies Project: The first Italian nation-wide experience of ICF implementation in the labour sector

Abstract

Purpose. To describe the first Italian experience of ICF implementation in the Labour Sector by a Ministerial body, and the development of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF)-based worker checklist.

Methods. Nation-wide training was provided. ICF-based worker checklist was developed by linking Italian legislative procedures and schedules to the ICF, and by adding standard ICF checklist's categories. When a third-level ICF category was linked, the corresponding second-level one was included in the worker checklist too.

Results. Eighty-four ICF categories were linked and five were added due to rolling-up procedure: 15 from body functions, 65 from activities and participation and 4 from environmental factors. In total, the dedicated ICF-based worker checklist is composed of 183 ICF categories, 34 of whom are at the third level and 89 from the domain of activities and participation.

Conclusions. The inclusion of the standard ICF checklist's items aimed to complement the information contained in the ministerial schedule, in which ICF categories from environmental factors domain are underrepresented. Future directions include the development of an ICF-based company checklist and an application tool for matching the information derived from the worker and the company ICF-based checklists.

Keywords:

• ICF
• labour policies
• job placement
• ICF-based worker checklist

Acknowledgements

ICF and Labour Policies project was funded by the Italian Ministry of Labour and Social Policies. We would like to thank Marcella Spano for language revision.