Even though women make up just 35 percent of the limb-loss community, their needs and desires deserve to be addressed.1 Unfortunately, this imbalance in the patient population means research has been done without a statistically significant number of women patients, and most prosthetic devices have been built and designed without a woman’s body in mind. In short, the experts say, the O&P community needs to do a better job in recognizing and addressing the needs of its women patients, especially as that population grows.
Changing Demographics
Historically, women have always made up a small number of patients who use prostheses. However, in recent years, their percentage has been growing slightly, mainly due to a higher percentage of women who have joined the military. From 2014 to 2019, women became the fastest-growing subpopulation of US veterans, with the number using the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) medical services growing 29 percent.2 And as the number of women veterans grew, so too did the number of women veterans who use prostheses. According to the US General Accounting Office, in fiscal years 2015 to 2019, the proportion of these women grew from 6.8 percent to 7.9 percent and accounted for about $889.1 million of the $15.4 billion total cost of prostheses. 2
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