Sexual health in the revised 11th version of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD)
Background
The International Classification of Diseases (ICD) is a key public health tool extensively used by countries, including for diagnosis, health monitoring and statistics. Since the last ICD revision in 1990, there have been substantial advances in health related knowledge as well as social understanding of sexual disorders and sexual health. This has implications for the related categories currently in the Mental and Behavioural Disorders section in the ICD-10.
Objective
To review the sexual disorders and sexual health categories in ICD 10 and make recommendations for the revision currently underway to develop ICD 11*.
* ICD-11 is scheduled to be presented to the 68th World Health Assembly in 2015
Methods
A Working Group on the Classification of Sexual Disorders and Sexual Health has been established jointly with the Department of Mental Health. It will report to the International Advisory Groups for the Revision of ICD-10 for Mental and Behavioural Disorders and for Reproductive Health.
The specific tasks of the Working Group include to: 1) review available scientific evidence, clinical and policy information on use, clinical utility, and experience with the ICD-10 diagnostic categories for sexual disorders and sexual health within various health care settings; b) review proposals for the relevant diagnostic categories in DSM-5 for their global relevance; c) prepare specific proposals for revision of ICD-10, including the placement and organization of these categories within the overall ICD system, for presentation to the two Advisory Groups to which the Working Group reports; d) provide drafts of the content for diagnostic categories in line with the overall ICD revision requirements. These proposals will be field tested and consulted with stakeholders as per the overall ICD procedures.
Expected results
Sexual disorder and sexual health conditions are updated in the ICD11 by 2015.