The International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health (ICF) was created with the intention of providing a detailed assessment of functioning, ease of recording, and communication between the team.

To describe the profile and opinion of health professionals about the use of the ICF in the hospital environment.

This is an observational, descriptive, cross-sectional study, carried out with Brazilian health professionals who work in the hospital environment. Individuals not residing in the country and unfinished surveys were excluded. An online survey was applied via an electronic form consisting of 22 questions divided into 3 sections: characteristics of the guides, knowledge, and use of the ICF. Questions related to age, gender, trail area, maximum title, length of experience, knowledge, and use of the ICF were defined for the professionals' profiles. Professionals who know the ICF were divided into two groups (1- already used the ICF in the hospital environment; 2- never used it) to compare their profiles and opinion on the feasibility of using the ICF in the hospital environment. A descriptive analysis of the data was performed, with values expressed as median (25-75% percentile) and absolute (n), and relative (%) frequency using the SPSS Software version 22. For comparison and association, the Chi-square was used with a significance level of 5%.

510 health professionals participated in the study, 427 (83.7%) female. Of these, 316(62%) were nurses, 147(28.8%) were physiotherapists and 27(5.3%) were psychologists. As a maximum degree, 301 (59%) have specialization. 103(20.2%) worked in the hospital environment between 6 and 10 years, 101(19.8%) for more than 20 years, and 89(17.5%) between 2 and 5 years. Regarding knowledge of the ICF, 265 (52%) reported having prior knowledge. To assess knowledge of the ICF, of these 265 who know it, 49 individuals who did not respond about the feasibility of using it were excluded, leaving 216. Of those who know the ICF, 72 (33.3%) have known it for about 2 to 5 years, 73(33.8%) knew it during graduation and 87(40.3%) classified their knowledge as fair. Comparing groups 1 and 2, there was no significant difference in age, sex distribution, knowledge about core sets, the feasibility of using the ICF, and time of practice (p<0.05). However, a significant part of group 2 had never been trained to apply the ICF [group 2, 94(79%) versus group 1, 47(48.5%), p<0.001] and did not use the core sets [group 2, 115(96.6%) versus group 1, 69(71.1%), p<0.001].

Most professionals who responded to the survey were nurses. Most of the interviewees have specialization as their maximum degree and have been working in the hospital environment for more than 6 years. Among individuals who know the ICF, there was no significant difference regarding the feasibility of using it, in a comparison between those who used it and those who never used the ICF in the hospital environment. Of those who have never used it in the hospital environment, most have never been trained to apply it and do not use the core sets.

Knowledge about the profile and opinion of health professionals on the use of the ICF in the hospital environment.