Does the Comprehensive International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) Core Set for Breast Cancer capture the problems in functioning treated by physiotherapists in women with breast cancer?

OBJECTIVE

The Comprehensive International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) Core Set for Breast Cancer is an application of the ICF, and represents the typical spectrum of problems in functioning and contextual factors that may influence functioning of patients with breast cancer. The objective of this study was to examine the content validity of this ICF core set from the perspective of physiotherapists.

DESIGN

Physiotherapists from around the world experienced in the treatment of patients with breast cancer were interviewed about patients' problems, patients' resources and environmental aspects that physiotherapists take care of in a three-round survey using the Delphi technique. The responses were linked to the ICF. The degree of agreement was calculated by means of the Kappa statistic.

PARTICIPANTS

Physiotherapists experienced in breast cancer treatment.

RESULTS

Fifty-nine physiotherapists from 19 countries named 769 problems treated by physiotherapists in patients with breast cancer. One hundred and sixty-six ICF categories were linked to these answers. Nineteen ICF categories reached >75% agreement among the physiotherapists but are not represented in the Comprehensive ICF Core Set for Breast Cancer. Ten concepts were linked to the not-yet-classified personal factors component. Eleven concepts are not covered by the ICF. The Kappa coefficient for the agreement between the two persons who performed the linking was 0.66 (95% bootstrapped confidence interval 0.63 to 0.68).

CONCLUSIONS

The content validity of the Comprehensive ICF Core Set for Breast Cancer was largely supported by the physiotherapists. However, several issues were raised which were not covered and these need to be investigated further.