Impairment, disability, and the ICIDH model I: The relationship between impairment and disability

Abstract
The conceptual scheme put forward in the International Classification of Impairments, Disabilities, and Handicaps suggests that impairment should be related to disability. This paper examines the proposition that disability should be related to impairment in terms of parts of the body involved, both in the physical requirements to carry out a given activity and as regards the site and types of functional limitation, by secondary analysis of data collected in a survey of disabled people in Great Britain. Factor analysis of data on functional limitations showed that these impairments could be considered in four groups representing manual dexterity, movements of the arm, strength, and lower limb function. These were found to be correlated with ability in self-care activities depending on the part of the body involved in the activity.