The purpose of the Master's Thesis (Pro gradu) was to explore how the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) has entrenched in the use of the multidisciplinary teams in the rehabilitation centres. The topic is particularly timely since ICF has been known for a reasonably long time among the rehabilitation staff yet it still has not been implemented. Few prior studies exist concerning the implementation and education of ICF. Standardisation of the concepts related to the rehabilitation process using ICF would aid the transmittal of the knowledge facilitating both the communication between different professionals and the clients’ awareness of their situation.

The research objects of this thesis are the staff perceptions of ICF. The purpose is to describe the professionals' perceptions about the research phenomenon and to develop a hypothesis of the common perception. The research task was to explore the perceptions the staff of the multidisciplinary teams held about ICF and the entrenching of ICF in the use of the rehabilitation centres. These materials were collected through semi-structured group interviews in which 20 staff members from the different rehabilitation centres participated. The group interviews were transcribed into 68 A4 pages of text. The data-driven phenomenographic approach was utilised in the analysis of the research material.

The research findings showed that ICF has not been entrenched in the use of the multidisciplinary teams in the rehabilitation centres. ICF was seen complicated; therefore it is not seen as suitable for rehabilitation practice. The perceptions that staff of the multidisciplinary teams held about ICF appeared hierarchically and can be presented as follows: On the first level the multidisciplinary team find the use of ICF awkward, on the second level ICF is seen as a challenging and ambivalent tool for cooperation and on the third level a thought of development of a functional model for rehabilitation cooperation is seen possible. Education tailored for the needs of working life could promote the entrenching of ICF in the rehabilitation cooperation. The transformation of ICF from theory into practice requires a systematic education with emphasis on the practical view.