Since there were little to no prior published studies, researchers set out to describe the prevalence of unmet needs for a prosthesis among people with an upper-limb amputation and identify variables associated with those needs. The findings suggest recent prosthesis users, those with poorer upper-limb function, and those who are employed or on disability are more likely to have unmet needs.
The researchers conducted a telephone survey of 742 individuals who had an upper-limb amputation and compared differences between users and nonusers and between nonusers with and without an unmet need. Covariates were included in a multivariate logistic regression model predicting unmet need.
The results indicated that the odds of unmet need were higher for those who stopped using a prosthesis within the past year compared with 20 years or more ago and those on disability. Odds of an unmet need were lower for those with higher upper-limb function scores who were unemployed versus employed/student, and those who had abandoned a prior prosthesis because it was “too much fuss.”
The study’s authors concluded that unmet needs were prevalent, impacting about 50 percent of those with upper-limb amputations who were not using a device and 14 percent who reported never having used a prosthesis. Independent correlates of greater unmet included worse upper-limb function, prosthesis use within the prior year, and disability status. Correlates of lesser unmet need included being unemployed and having abandoned a prosthesis because it was perceived as an undue burden.
Further studies are needed to understand barriers to prosthesis use among nonusers with an unmet need, the study said, and individuals with upper-limb amputations who do not use a prosthesis should be reevaluated regularly to identify any unmet needs.
The study “Prevalence and Predictors of Unmet Need for Upper-Limb Prostheses: An Observational Cohort Study,” was published in the Journal of Prosthetics and Orthotics.
