Researchers conducted a study to define upper-limb prosthesis design requirements from the perspectives of health providers, end users, and close relatives.
Semistructured interviews were conducted with three types of stakeholders: 11 healthcare providers, ten end users with unilateral upper-limb amputations, and ten of their close relatives. The questions included characteristics for prosthetic design and the capability to conduct activities of daily living (ADLs) with different types of prostheses. The study was part of a project focused on the design of a myoelectric upper-limb prosthesis.
The three groups agreed that the most critical characteristic of a prosthesis was comfort, followed by maintenance and low weight. Cost was the requirement with the most remarkable difference in perception among stakeholders. Differences in the perception of the capability of conducting activities of daily living (i.e., transport, housework, personal care, and grooming) were found between the end users and their relatives. The results and previous research provide relevant information for device design, mainly related to critical challenges and user requirements, and may help to improve user satisfaction and reduce device abandonment rates.
The researchers concluded that integrating users’ ADL requirements could enhance independence, and tailoring designs to the users’ diverse needs, addressing family impacts, and mitigating external abandonment factors such as unrealistic expectations, training gaps, and accessory shortages are critical to reducing device abandonment and improving rehabilitation outcomes.
The open-access study, “Upper-limb prosthetic requirements from the healthcare providers, end-users and relatives’ perspectives”was published in the Journal of Hand Therapy.
