At the initiative of the First Lady of Ukraine Olena Zelenska and the Ministry of Health, together with national and international experts, the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) was introduced as a national classifier.
The ICF is the latest method of determining the state of human health after an injury, which allows to restructure the rehabilitation system in Ukraine, make it better, more efficient and human-centric. As Olena Zelenska noted, the ICF is a tool that will allow us to see not missed opportunities, but perspective.
"In difficult times for the country, such a technique is very necessary. After all, the importance of adapting general programs to the capabilities of people with special educational needs is no longer in doubt, and the ICF provides the necessary tools for this. The formation of educational space, the adaptation of educational programs, the need for various assistive technologies and tools – ICF will help to form clear algorithms for solving these and many other programs," – said Minister of Education and Science Serhii Shkarlet.
"If a person has lost a leg during hostilities, our task is to comprehensively improve their health. This requires different specialists: ergotherapists, psychologists, social workers first of all. Because the main goal of rehabilitation under ICF is to enable a person to return to everyday life, work and remain an active member of society," – said the First Lady of Ukraine.
"Today we are well aware of how many consequences for the health and life of our citizens the war will have, especially in the direction of rehabilitation. Therefore, the implementation of the ICF is the first key stage in the development of a new system of rehabilitation and disability. To do this, an electronic module will be developed to assess the level of functioning, disability and health of the person. A set of such solutions will allow to create a holistic rehabilitation system. The national classifier will also ensure the implementation of the Medical Guarantee Program to provide care during acute, post-acute and long-term rehabilitation periods at all levels of medical care in healthcare institutions, rehabilitation facilities and beyond," – said Minister of Health Viktor Liashko.
According to Adviser to the President of Ukraine on Barrier-Free Issues Tetiana Lomakina, when a person goes through a crisis, such as a stroke or severe injury, their recovery should begin in the first hours.
"We must measure not what is lost, but the potential for recovery. That is, we look at a person in terms of what s/he can and will do in time. This is a revolutionary difference from how we used to look at rehabilitation and disability in general. And the ICF is exactly the kind of tool that will allow us to see not lost opportunities, but perspective and provide all opportunities for this perspective. That is why the introduction of the ICF is so important today for the transition to a modern and progressive view of rehabilitation, which has long been practiced around the world," – said Tetiana Lomakina.
Recently, representatives of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine met with the Director of the European Public Law Organization.
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National University “Yuri Kondratyuk Poltava Polytechnic”
