Functioning among persons with lower limb amputation with or without prostheses in Rwanda

Limb loss limits functioning and restricts participation in various environments. Persons with lower limb amputations (PLLA) experience challenges ranging from self-care and independence to psychological disorders that negatively impact their functioning.

To assess the functioning and the level of disability of PLLA with or without prostheses in Rwanda.

A descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted among PLLAs aged 18 years and above in 10 districts of Rwanda. A total of 247 participants were purposively selected to fill the questionnaires. Descriptive and inferential statistics using t-test and binary logistic regression were performed to analyse data using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) (version 21.0).

Out of 247 PLLA, 99 (40.1%) had prostheses and remaining 148 (59.9%) did not. Majority of PLLA without prostheses reported having more difficulties in mobility (s.d. 3.98), participation (s.d. 5.18) and life activities (s.d. 3.87). The majority of PLLA reported mild and moderate functioning in the domains of cognitive (odds ratio [OR] 8.842, 5.384 with 95% confidence interval [CI]) mobility (OR 16.154, 2.485 with 95% CI) and participation (OR 13.299, 15.282 with 95% CI).

Persons without prostheses demonstrated reduced level of functioning and high levels of disability compared to those with prostheses in all domains. However, the mobility, self-activities and the participation domains were the mainly affected.

The study helps to understand the needs of the PLLA and emphasises that not only having prostheses can improve functioning but also emphasises the psychosocial aspects to reduce disability.