Identification of the most common patient problems in patients with chronic conditions using the ICF checklist

Objective: To identify the most common patient problems in patients with 12 different chronic conditions using the ICF checklist. Methods: A multi-centre, cross-sectional study with convenient samples of patients who had received a clinical diagnosis of any of 12 different chronic conditions undergoing inpatient or outpatient rehabilitation. To describe the population, age, gender, and the SF-36 were recorded. Data for 917 patients from 33 rehabilitation centres were analysed. Results: Most of the ICF-checklist categories were common to at least 1 condition. Pain was the sole category of 125 ICF-checklist categories that was common to all chronic conditions. Patients with low back pain, rheumatoid arthritis, and diabetes mellitus did not often experience the problems listed in the ICF checklist. Conclusion: The main finding, that in most conditions categories from each component were common, underscores the need to address all components when assessing functioning and health in patients with chronic conditions.