Applying the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health (ICF) to Interprofessional Education: Advancing Collaboration to Improve the Oral Health of Children with Special Health Care Needs

Project overview:
An interprofessional team of educators (dental, medicine, public health, and psychology) embarked on a multi-year “proof of concept” project to apply the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health (ICF) framework and develop an IPE intervention to promoting collaborative care for children with special health care needs (SHCN). Using continuous quality improvement cycles, the team produced a set of educational materials that teach interprofessional learners to apply the basic concepts of a functionally based assessment method. This unique IPE model helped clinicians to transcend their discipline-specific care approaches by focusing on the child’s multiple dimensions of functioning and consider barriers and facilitators. The approach emphasized the critical role of family, caregivers, school-based and community professionals in comprehensive, person-centered assessment and care planning for children with SHCN.

Resources to be shared:

1. Summary of pilot educational materials introducing learners to the basic ICF concepts for oral and overall health assessment.
2. Instructors’ guide summarizing the implementation of a blended learning approach (didactic, self-study modules, and clinical sessions).
3. A functional assessment method (FAM) tool (educational worksheet) that helped learners apply ICF concepts during collaborative assessment (in didactic, simulation, or clinic settings.)
4. Screenshots of three self-study case exercises. Each PowerPoint module guides learners through the application of ICF principles to three pediatric cases of increasing complexity: 1) typically developing child with a chronic illness (asthma), 2) child with special health care needs (cerebral palsy), and 3) child with special health care needs (autism spectrum disorder).

These IPE materials may be used flexibly in a variety of educational settings, especially to foster collaborative care planning between medical and oral health providers (although they could be easily adapted to other disciplines). Our team is eager to share our work and hope to partner with other institutions so that we may further develop this IPE model, obtain interprofessional feedback on the pilot materials, and to collect educational research/outcome data.

This project was funded by the DentaQuest Foundation GRANT #: G-1509-10470