ICF

A framework developed by the World Health Organization (WHO) and endorsed by all 191 member states in 2001 for describing and measuring health and disability. The ICF takes a biopsychosocial approach, classifying functioning and disability across four components: body functions and structures, activity and participation, environmental factors, and personal factors. Unlike medical models that focus on diagnosis, the ICF emphasises function rather than condition — it classifies what a person can do within their context, not the person themselves. In accessibility and assistive technology design, the ICF provides a standardised language for mapping user abilities to task requirements and for understanding how environmental factors (including technology design) either enable or restrict participation.