WHO publishes first international standard for documenting the health of children
The World Health Organization’s International classification of functioning, disability and health for children and youth (ICF-CY) confirms the importance of precise descriptions of children’s health status through a methodology that has long been standard for adults.
Viewing children and youth within the context of their environment and development continuum, the ICF-CY applies classification codes to hundreds of bodily functions and structures, activities and participation, and various environmental factors that restrict or allow young people to function in an array of everyday activities.
The rapid growth and changes that occur in first two decades of life were not sufficiently captured in its precursor, the International classification of functioning, disability and health (ICF). Thus the ICF-CY addresses this important developmental period with greater detail.
Health as a function of environment
A new standardised coding system will help clinicians, educators, researchers, administrators, policymakers and parents document and measure the important growth, health and development characteristics of children and young people.
Children who are chronically hungry, thirsty or insecure, for example, are often not healthy and have trouble learning and developing normally. This classification provides a way to capture the impacts of the physical and social environment so that these can be addressed through social policy, health care and education systems to improve children’s well-being.
The ICF-CY has important implications globally for research, standard setting and mobilising resources. “For the first time, we now have a tool that enables us to track and compare the health of children and youth between countries and over time,” said Nenad Kostanjsek of WHO’s Measurement and Health Information team. “The ICF-CY will allow countries and the international community to take informed action to improve children’s health, education and rights, by treating their health as a function of the environment that adults provide.”
The classification also covers developmental delay. Children who achieve certain milestones later than their peers may be at increased risk of disability. Using this classification, health practitioners, parents and teachers can describe these delays precisely to plan for health and educational needs and frame policy debates.
For more information contact Nenad Kostanjsek at: kostanjsekn@who.int