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Multidisciplinary Research Network on Health and Disability in Europe

Final Activity Report Summary - MURINET (Multidisciplinary Research Network on Health and Disability in Europe)

MURINET was a 4-year project led by Coordinator Dr Matilde Leonardi (Foundation IRCCS Neurological Institute Carlo Besta, Milan) with 11 academic and research institutions and NGOs from 7 European countries as partners. MURINET aimed to create a European pool of experts in health and disability research and management, able to integrate several skills, within the framework of the ICF model. The objectives of full participation by persons with disability in all areas of life, full inclusion in society, and access to health and other resources that facilitate participation are the underlying rationale of the research done by this network. The objectives of MURINET collaborative research project were securely anchored in research, using ICF (International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health) in the areas of health and rehabilitation, but will also span clinical and policy research, across the continuum of time, and will be grounded in a fully developed disability epidemiology.

MURINET aimed:
To identify the needs of persons with disability and to plan interventions in light of the biopsychosocial model of ICF;
To operationalise ICF to research and practical implementation by applying the ICF model in different settings (clinical and rehabilitative environments, child health, psychology and educational field, and ethics and human rights);
To reorient health and disability-related clinical practice and policy by exploring the validity of the various continua of functioning and disability, grounded in the ICF model;
To explore the practical consequences of an ICF-inspired intervention strategy in which all interventions are designed to increase participation, by means of environmental facilitation or increased functional capacity;
To develop research in the neglected area of ethics and human rights as these apply to persons with disability, also in light of the UN Convention.

MURINET main activities:
Defining the functioning profiles of patients with different medical conditions in various settings by means of ICF and ICF related instruments;
Linking ICF to assessment instruments;
Applying ICF-CY in educational settings to explain differences in prevalence among children with disabilities and differences in access to educational, early intervention, psychosocial and health services across Europe;
Collecting and analysing disability related literature, data and policies;
Analysing ethical issues related to disability policies;
Providing training on issues related to ICF and Human Rights.

Europe can become a world leader in the application of ICF to health and disability systems, because of the diversity of the perspectives on functioning and disability represented in MURINET project, the firm linkages in approach and methodology secured by the common basis of the ICF, and the commitment to common objectives. This collaborative project can help to meet the urgent need to develop and validate a holistic and integrated conception of the lived experience of disability, thereby furthering the human rights goals of full inclusion and participation in all life areas.

The partners that were involved in the project were: Foundation IRCCS Neurological Institute "Carlo Besta", Milan (Italy) (Coordinator); Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore (Italy); Jönköping University (Sweden); Paedagogische Hochschule Zurich (Switzerland); Universitatskilinikum Hamburg-Eppendorf (Germany); Universidad Autonoma de Madrid (Spain); University Rehabilitation Institute (Republic of Slovenia); Consiglio Nazionale sulla Disabilità (Italy); Region Friuli Venezia Giulia (Italy); Stichting Vilans (The Netherlans) CF Consulting, Finanziamenti Unione Europea srl (CFc) (Italy); Stichting Hogeschool Zuyd (The Netherlands).