Development of an extensive assessment list for knee osteoarthritis based on the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health: a Delphi study

The objective of this study was to develop an extensive assessment list for individuals with knee osteoarthritis based on the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) osteoarthritis comprehensive Core Set. Ten experienced physical therapists including five lecturers and five clinicians were purposively nominated to form an expert panel. Consensus among the experts was obtained through a four-iteration Delphi technique. A list of ICF categories and their third- and fourth-level categories were selected and matched with outcome measures associated with knee osteoarthritis. The expert panel agreed that 26 out of 38 second-level categories of the comprehensive ICF core set for osteoarthritis were relevant to identify problems related to knee osteoarthritis. The information relevant to the specific categories for knee osteoarthritis was obtained from self-reported, subjective observation and physical examination. The extensive assessment list for knee osteoarthritis based on the comprehensive ICF core set for osteoarthritis was assembled. This assessment tool can be used to expansively identify the multidimensional disabilities of impairment, activity limitation and participation restriction in individuals with knee osteoarthritis.