Original article
Development and validation of the ICF-CY-Based Functioning Scale of the Disability Evaluation System—Child Version in Taiwan

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfma.2015.11.002Get rights and content
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Background/Purpose

The International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health—Children and Youth version (ICF-CY) depicts human functioning [body functions (b), structures (s), and activities and participation (d) components] as the product of the interaction between health conditions and contextual factors [environmental factors (e) and personal factors]. In Taiwan, testers use the Functioning Scale of the Disability Evaluation System—Child version (FUNDES-Child) to collect information related to b, d, and e for children aged 6.0–17.9 years in the Disability Eligibility System (DES). The purpose of this study was to examine the content and construct validity of the FUNDES-Child.

Methods

We developed the FUNDES-Child through translating the existing questionnaires, cross-cultural adaptation, expert consensus, and field tests. Consensus meetings were conducted to link items from the FUNDES-Child to ICF-CY codes. To investigate construct validity, we examined associations among scores from the FUNDES-Child that reflected ICF-CY chapter-linked components.

Results

The FUNDES-Child items were successfully linked to all nine d-, five b-, and four e-chapters of the ICF-CY. Moderate correlations were found between scores that were expected to be related to specific chapters in the b, d, and e components. The scores of the b-chapters had stronger relationships with the d independence scores, while attitudes of others (e4) had stronger relationships with the d participation frequency scores.

Conclusion

The FUNDES-Child had acceptable content validity and construct validity in the DES. The associations found among the ICF-CY chapter scores provided a model for investigating the impact of body functions and environmental factors on children's activities and participation.

Keywords

disability evaluation
disabled children
eligibility determination
International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health
social participation

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Conflicts of interest: The authors have no conflicts of interest relevant to this article.