New thesis on improved quality in sickness certification in Swedish primary care
Hi Magdalena Fresk, doctoral student at the Division of Family Medicine and Primary Care . On October 10 you will defend your thesis ”International classification of functioning, disability and health in the sickness certification process” What is the main focus of the thesis?
”My thesis explores whether the WHO’s International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) can improve quality in sickness certification, especially for depression and chronic pain. ICF complements medical diagnoses by describing how illness affects daily life—crucial in certificates that must include both diagnosis and its impact on work ability”, says Magdalena Fresk, doctoral student at institutionen för neurobiologi, vårdvetenskap och samhälle.
Which are the most important results?
”The thesis shows that the quality of sickness certificates has improved over time. In the latest sample, male patients were more likely to receive high-quality certificates. ICF is suitable for describing work-related disability, but adaptations are needed to better reflect patients’ real-life challenges”.
How can this new knowledge contribute to the improvement of people’s health?
”ICF helps capture how illness affects daily life—beyond the diagnosis. Better documentation can lead to fairer decisions about sick leave and rehabilitation, ensuring people get the support they need to recover and return to work. Combined with digital tools, ICF also makes it easier to collect data on work-related disability, which has previously been hard to capture”.
What’s in the future for you? Will you continue to conduct research?
”I’m interested in exploring whether it would be possible to develop an internationally standardized sickness certificate that includes structured information on work-related disability. This could help increase understanding of how illness affects everyday life and support fairer decisions and better data collection across healthcare systems”.