An international team of researchers developed a toolkit for rehabilitation after childhood lower-limb loss. The research domains spanned children’s unique prosthetic needs, quality of life, pain, and mobility.
The researchers identified cohorts of children in contrasting environments (Cambodia, Gaza Strip, and the United Kingdom) to provide a comprehensive global understanding of the child with lower-limb loss.
They also conducted a literature review, which led to the development of interview guides for the child, caregiver, and prosthetist. The child’s guide centered around enjoyment and engagement using card games and activities, and was reviewed by a panel of experts in pediatric limb loss and mental health. The guides were integrated with existing validated measures to form a comprehensive toolkit, which was successfully piloted with five children, their families, and two prosthetists.
The open-access paper, “Listening to children with lower limb loss: Rationale, design, and protocol for delivery of a novel globally applicable research toolkit—Prosthetic user needs, quality of life, pain, and physical function,” was published in PLOS One.
