Prevention Aiming at Functioning—Describing Prevention in the Context of Rehabilitation: A Discussion Paper

The widely accepted model of prevention, including primary, secondary and tertiary prevention, focuses predominantly on diseases. The WHO provides a comprehensive model of health conceptualized on the basis of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF). This paper develops a conceptual description of prevention aimed at functioning on the basis of the ICF model. Starting from the ICF-based conceptual descriptions of rehabilitation as a health strategy, a conceptual description of functioning prevention has been developed. Prevention aiming at functioning is the health strategy that applies approaches to avoid or reduce risks of impairing bodily functions and structures, activity limitations and participation restrictions; to strengthen the resources of the person; to optimize capacity and performance; to prevent impairments of bodily functions and structures; to prevent activity limitations and participation restrictions; to reduce contextual risk factors and barriers, including personal and environmental factors; to promote and strengthen contextual facilitators, with the goal of enabling people with impairments and people at risk of disability; and to maintain or improve the level of functioning in interactions with the environment. The proposed concept widens the scope of prevention to all aspects of functioning, including contextual factors.