Advancing Healthcare Outcome Evaluation Through ICF-Based Assessment of Functioning

The evaluation of healthcare outcomes increasingly requires approaches capable of capturing functioning beyond traditional biomedical indicators. The International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) provides a comprehensive biopsychosocial framework that enables standardised description of functioning, disability, and contextual factors across health conditions and settings. While health systems worldwide are increasingly oriented toward value-based care, outcome appraisal still largely relies on disease-specific or mortality-based indicators that inadequately reflect patients’ real-world performance and participation. ICF-based assessment offers an opportunity to harmonize outcome measurement across rehabilitation services and broader healthcare sectors, supporting comparability, transparency, and patient-centred evaluation. Advancing the implementation of ICF-informed assessment models may therefore represent a crucial step toward improving quality monitoring, clinical decision-making, and evaluation of health system effectiveness.This Research Topic aims to advance scientific and clinical understanding of functioning as a core health indicator and to promote the systematic adoption of ICF-based assessment in healthcare outcome evaluation. By gathering multidisciplinary contributions, the Research Topic seeks to demonstrate how functioning data can complement traditional clinical indicators to provide a more comprehensive appraisal of healthcare effectiveness and societal impact. Particular emphasis is placed on strengthening the link between rehabilitation outcomes and health system performance, supporting policy makers and healthcare managers in evidence-informed decision-making. Sharing experiences from different countries and healthcare contexts will contribute to identifying scalable models for integrating functioning assessment into routine practice and health information systems. Ultimately, this initiative intends to foster a paradigm shift toward functioning-oriented healthcare evaluation, enhancing accountability, comparability, and person-centred care across health systems.All researchers, clinicians, rehabilitation professionals, and health system experts involved in outcome assessment and service evaluation are encouraged to submit contributions addressing theoretical, methodological, and practical aspects of ICF-based assessment of functioning. Relevant submissions may include studies describing the implementation of ICF frameworks in clinical practice, the development or validation of functioning indicators, integration of functioning data into health information systems, and applications supporting quality assurance or health system performance evaluation. Contributions exploring the use of ICF-based approaches in different health conditions, care settings, or socioeconomic contexts are particularly welcome. Papers examining digital solutions, big data approaches, or policy implications related to functioning measurement are also encouraged to strengthen the comparability and scalability of rehabilitation outcomes worldwide. Studies highlighting barriers, facilitators, and innovative strategies for large-scale adoption of ICF-based assessment across healthcare systems are strongly encouraged. Topic editors: Maria Gabriella Ceravolo, Melissa Selb, Francesca Gimigliano Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/79053/advancing-healthcare-outcome-evaluation-through-icf-based-assessment-of-functioning