2009 Volume 24 Issue 5 Pages 647-652
[Purpose] The purpose of this study was to clarify how physiotherapists understand personal factors in the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF). [Subjects and Method] Surveillance was conducted using a questionnaire which was sent by mail to physiotherapists working in Ibaraki prefecture. Physiotherapists who deal with patients with cerebral vascular disorders and orthopedic diseases in their ordinary practice were subjected to the final analysis, and 12 items of personal factors were assessed in this study. [Results] There was no difference in understanding of personal factors between the two different types of diseases. Regarding the 12 personal factors that we assessed in this study, none of them was considered obviously a non-personal factor. According to the results of factor analyses on these 12 items, it was possible to classify them into four factors: "personal background", "personal life", "personal characteristics", and "personal physical features". A personal factor which indicates a "physical feature" was considered the most likely to affect mental and physical functions; most of the subjects who answered the questionnaire stated that it would affect the disease prognosis and outcomes. Similarly, the majority of them stated that the personal factors which indicate "personal characteristics" or "personal life" would also affect the prognosis and outcomes. However, for the personal factors associated with "personal backgrounds", there were subjects who thought those would affect the prognosis and outcomes, and there were some others who thought they would not. The value for academic background was especially low, while the value for growth history was relatively high. [Conclusion] We clarified that most of the personal factors are thought to affect disease prognosis and outcomes in the two different types of diseases.
