Helping Care for the Whole O&P Patient

Social determinants of health are the socioeconomic and environmental conditions under which people live, and psychosocial needs focus on how the interaction of those kinds of influences affect people’s feelings and behaviors. “If their psychosocial needs are not addressed, we don’t know if their outcomes with that prosthesis are going to be optimal,” Mona Patel, LCSW, tells The O&P EDGE in “ Holistic Care: How Psychosocial Factors Impact O&P Patients ,” in the June issue. But with limited time, resources, and expertise, what impact can practitioners make? Several new studies have introduced brief screenings for comorbidities, pain, and mental health conditions that can help direct practitioners and their patients toward better overall outcomes. A clinical trial at the University of Delaware tested a comorbidity screening for O&P patients and found that it could be done without adding significant time to patients’ appointments, and the participating practitioners said that the data they collected was useful in their patient care. Another benefit was that the patients felt it was useful and enhanced their rapport with their prosthetist. Research concluded that a widely used depression screening questionnaire is accurate for people with and without chronic pain, contrary to a common misconception that the screening inflated depression scores for people with chronic pain. To read “Study validates accuracy of depression screening for people with chronic pain,” visit the University of Arizona. https://news.arizona.edu/news/study-validates-accuracy-depression-screening-people-chronic-pain An open-access study from 2024 set out to establish guidelines for psychosocial screening in children and teens with lower-limb deficiency, a population that may be at increased risk for mental health difficulties. The researchers found that clinically significant psychological concerns were common among the sample, and the preliminary data on repeat screenings suggested that the concerns may not correct themselves without intervention. To read “Clinical Trial Examines Comorbidity Screenings in Prosthetic Care,” visit The O&P EDGE. To read “Mental health screening in pediatric lower limb deficiency population,” visit PM&R. To read “Study validates accuracy of depression screening for people with chronic pain,” visit the University of Arizona. References “In fact, studies show that medical care accounts for just 10-20 percent of health outcomes, with the remainder being out of the O&P provider’s immediate control.” Hood, C. M., K. P. Gennuso, G. R. Swain, and B. B. Catlin. 2016. County health rankings: Relationships between determinant factors and health outcomes. American Journal of Preventive Medicine 50(2):129-35.

Helping Care for the Whole O&P Patient

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