What is the primary purpose of the ICF framework?

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The ICF framework centers on describing health and disability through how a person functions in real life, not just what disease they have. It uses a biopsychosocial lens that looks at body functions and structures, what a person can do (activities), and what they actually do in daily life (participation), while also accounting for environmental and personal factors that help or hinder performance. Its primary purpose is to provide a comprehensive, standardized way to describe functioning and disability, so clinicians, researchers, and policymakers can plan care, set meaningful goals, and measure outcomes across different settings. This perspective recognizes that disability arises from the interaction between a person and their environment, rather than from a medical problem alone. That’s why the framework includes environmental factors and why it’s not a purely biomedical or genetic-focused model.