WHO-FIC Content Model explained

The basic unit of the WHO-FIC classification is an entity—a concept with a unique identifier such as Tuberculosis (2072728114). Entities are grouped into poly-hierarchies in the Foundation or hierarchies (tree structures) in linearizations.

Below is the WHO-FIC Content Model represented using TypeScript types.

// The basic building block of the Foundation.
type FoundationEntity = {

// Entity identifier.
id: number;

// A name that represents the entity, and which labels the entity in a meaningful and unambiguous way.
titles: LanguageSpecificText[];

// An unambiguous title that does not assume context. Its purpose is to uniquely designate an entity and to clarify
// meaning rather than present a commonly used or natural phrase.
fullySpecifiedNames: LanguageSpecificText[];

// A short characterisation (maximum of 100 words) of the entity that states things that are always true about a
// disease or condition and necessary to understand the scope of the rubric.
shortDescriptions: LanguageSpecificText[];

// An optional text field that may contain any additional information and more context for the entity. For ICD, this
// might contain characteristics of the diseases or conditions included in the entity.
additionalInformations: LanguageSpecificText[];

// A list of entities that are the direct parents of the entity (first-level ancestors or superclasses).
parents: Entity[];

// A list of direct child entities (first-level descendants or subclasses).
children: Entity[];

// A language term that has a similar meaning to the entity and it is also used to denote the entity.
synonyms: LanguageSpecificText[];

// A language term that has a narrower meaning than the entity, but it can still be used to refer to the entity for
// coding purposes.
narrowerTerms: LanguageSpecificText[];

// Exemplary terms or phrases that are synonymous with the title of the entity or terms representing more specific
// conditions.
inclusions: (LanguageSpecificText | Entity)[];

// Entities that might be thought to be children of a given entity but, because they occur elsewhere in the
// classification, must be excluded from appearing under it.
exclusions: Entity[];

// A flag that encodes whether an entity that was previously released, is now obsolete and should not be used for
// coding.
obsolete?: boolean;
};


// Language specific text.
type LanguageSpecificText = {
// Language code for the string.
language: string;

// Label in the given language.
value: string;
};

See also

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