International Classification of Function

Consequent to the United Nations designating 1981 as the International Year of Disabled Persons, with themes of full participation in community life and equality of life for people with a disability, there was increasing need for global disability statistics. The International Classification of Impairments, Disabilities and Handicaps and resulting International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health has facilitated World Health Organization analysis between countries, and cross country/cross center clinical and research collaboration, increasing the understanding of the needs not only of an individual, but also the community and region in which that person lives. As life expectancy for individuals with intellectual and developmental disability (IDD) becomes progressively aligned with that of the general population, socio-economic factors are increasingly being recognized as important determinants of health. Although the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health does not specifically include those non-health factors such as socio-economic circumstances, the impact of those can be measured indirectly using its framework.