The International Classification of Functioning, Disabilities, and Health Categories Necessary for Care Planning for Older Patients with Heart Failure: A Survey of Care Managers in Japan

Background: Establishing an information-sharing system between medical professionals and welfare/care professionals may help prevent heart failure (HF) in community-dwelling older adults. Therefore, we aimed to identify the ICF categories necessary for care managers to develop care plans for older patients with HF. Methods: A questionnaire was administered to 695 care managers in Hiroshima, Japan, on ICF items necessary for care planning. We compared the care managers according to their specialties (medical and welfare). Furthermore, we created a co-occurrence network using text mining, regarding the elements necessary for collaboration between medical and care professionals. Results: There were 520 valid responses (74.8%). Forty-nine ICF items, including 18 for body functions, one for body structure, 21 for activities and participation, and nine for environmental factors, were classified as "necessary" for making care plans for older people with HF. Medical professionals more frequently answered "necessary" than care professionals regarding the 11 items for body functions and structure and three items for activities and participation (p