The MHADIE project: a European experience on bridging in disabilities

Introduction: The Measuring Health and Disability in Europe (MHADIE) was funded as part of the 6th Framework Programme by the European Commission to be developed between 2005 and 2008. The main aim of the project was to demonstrate the feasibility and utility of the World Health Organisation’s International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) as a cross-cutting, universal framework and international standard to influence and support new European policy guidelines on health and disability by means of statistical, clinical and experimental research. ICF’s universal approach constitutes a paradigm shift in our understanding of disability, one that underscores the need to integrate individual functioning with the complete physical and social environment in order to capture the full-lived experience of disability that links health and social policy to promote social integration and increase participation, thereby enhancing opportunities for persons with disabilities. Description: As part of this Co-ordination Action, institutions and researchers from 11 countries distributed across all the European Union, have been able to demonstrate the application of the ICF model in the collection of health and disability data using this common framework The project has established a network of European partners that are involved at regional, national and international level with the implementation of ICF, ICF children version and ICF related instruments in clinical samples of selected conditions. Results: Specifically, this Co-ordination Action has been able to: 1) employ the ICF model of functioning and disability to analyse existing general population health surveys and education statistics data; 2) demonstrate that the ICF model is adequate for describing and measuring patterns of disability in clinical samples of selected conditions, cross-sectionally and over time; and 3) demonstrate the feasibility and usefulness of the ICF for collecting and managing data in educational sectors. Recommendations: Among the results, MHADIE partners have produced specific policy recommendations and guidelines designed for use in health disability policy planning and development across the European Union.