Rehabilitation medicine can be defined as the medicine of human functioning. Therefore, the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) as approved by WHO in 2001 is of utmost importance for our specialty. The ICF is the basis for the conceptualisation of the rehabilitation strategy completing the curative, preventive and supportive health strategies. The ICF and the ICF-based conceptualisation of the rehabilitation strategy are again the basis for the conceptualisation of our specialty, the organisation of human functioning and rehabilitation research in distinct scientific fields and the development of research capacity with respect to academic training programs, interdisciplinary university centres and national/international collaboration networks. The conceptualisation, organisation and development of human functioning in rehabilitation based on the ICF are discussed in a special issue of the Journal of Rehabilitation Medicine. All articles are open access [http://jrm.medicaljournals.Se/issue/39/4]. Clinicians and researchers worldwide are now encouraged to write to the editor of the Journal of Rehabilitation Medicine to express their views on the published concepts and ideas.
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