Abstract
BackgroundThe aim of this study was to compare QOL among people in India using lower-limb prostheses or orthoses with people without disability. A further aim was to compare subgroups and investigate whether QOL was associated with physical disability, gender, income, living area, and education.MethodsA cross-sectional questionnaire study in which the World Health Organization Quality of Life-Bref was used to collect self-reported data. A total of 277 participants from India were included, 155 with disability and 122 without. Group comparisons were conducted using the Mann–Whitney U and the Kruskal–Wallis tests and associations were explored using regression analyses of the four QOL domains: physical health, psychological, social relationships, and environment.ResultsParticipants with physical disability scored significantly lower than did participants without disability in three of the four QOL domains, i.e., physical health, (Median 14.29 vs 16.29; p < .001) psychological, (Median 14.67 vs. 15.33; p = .017) and environment (Median13.00 vs 14.00; p = .006). For people with disability those with no or irregular income and those not attending school having the lowest QOL scores in all four domains. Education was associated with all four QOL domains and income was associated with psychological and environment. Living in urban slums was associated with a higher risk of lower QOL in three QOL domains, i.e., physical health, psychology, and environment.ConclusionsDespite rehabilitation services, people with physical disability experienced lower QOL in terms of the physical health, psychological, and environmental domains than did people without disability. Community-based rehabilitation programmes for prosthetic and orthotic users need to increase and improve their rehabilitation services to increase income and improve access to education. Priority could be given to those who have no or irregular income, live in urban slums, and have not attended school to further improve their QOL.
Highlights
The aim of this study was to compare Quality of life (QOL) among people in India using lower-limb prostheses or orthoses with people without disability
The results indicated no significant differences in overall QOL, general health, and the social relationships domain between participants with disability and those without
QOL in prosthetic and orthotic users in relation to gender Our study found no significant differences between women and men with disability
Summary
The aim of this study was to compare QOL among people in India using lower-limb prostheses or orthoses with people without disability. A further aim was to compare subgroups and investigate whether QOL was associated with physical disability, gender, income, living area, and education. In a lower- to middle-income country such as India, many people with disability often lack access to the rehabilitation and assistive devices they need. It is important that people with disability have the opportunity to access education, employment, health and social services [11, 12], and assistive devices, all of which help people achieve better conditions [8, 13]. QOL is a broad concept encompassing a person’s physical health, psychological state, level of independence, social relationships, and personal beliefs as well as the environmental factors that affect a person [1]
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