Article

Stroke is a leading cause of death and disability in Brazil.
The multiple aspects of disability in these patients require proportionally
comprehensive tools for their assessment. The International Classification of
Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) core set for stroke intends to
comprehensively describe the experience of such patients with their functioning.
This study aimed to empirically validate the ICF core set for stroke by checking
the frequency of problems in each of its categories, thus verifying content
validity. METHOD: A cross-sectional study in which data were collected from
clinical charts, physical examination, tests, and interviews with 132 stroke
outpatients under rehabilitation and their caregivers. Categories were considered
"not validated" if less than 20% of the sample would present some degree of
problems in them. RESULTS: Only 20 categories (14 body functions, 5 body
structures, and 1 activity and participation) were considered not validated.
Neuromusculoskeletal functions and mobility were the aspects of functioning most
often described with problems. All environmental factors were qualified as
facilitators or barriers and acted as modulators of disability. CONCLUSIONS: The
comprehensive ICF core sets for stroke can be used by multidisciplinary teams to
classify the life experience of stroke survivors, although efforts to enable and
enhance reproducibility are needed to warrant its reliable routine use.

Langue : ANGLAIS