Abstract
Objectives
To analyze work participation, work productivity, contributing factors, and physical
work demands of individuals with upper limb absence (ULA).
Design
Cross-sectional study: postal survey (response rate, 45%).
Setting
Twelve rehabilitation centers and orthopedic workshops.
Participants
Individuals (n=207) with unilateral transverse upper limb reduction deficiency (RD)
or acquired amputation (AA), at or proximal to the carpal level, between the ages
of 18 and 65 years, and a convenience sample of control subjects (n=90) matched on
age and sex.
Interventions
Not applicable.
Main Outcome Measures
Employment status, self-reported work productivity measured with the Quality-Quantity
method, and self-reported upper extremity work demands measured with the Upper Extremity
Work Demands scale.
Results
Seventy-four percent of the individuals with RD and 57% of the individuals with AA
were employed (vs 82% of the control group and 66% of the general population). Male
sex, younger age, a medium or higher level of education, prosthesis use, and good
general health were predictors of work participation. Work productivity was similar
to that of the control group. Higher work productivity was inversely related to musculoskeletal
complaint–related pain. When having predominantly mentally demanding work, individuals
with ULA perceived higher upper extremity work demands compared with controls.
Conclusions
Work participation of individuals with RD was slightly higher compared with that of
the general population, whereas employment rates of individuals with AA were slightly
lower. Furthermore, work productivity did not differ between individuals with RD,
AA, and controls.
Keywords
List of abbreviations:
AA (acquired amputation), CI (confidence interval), MSC (musculoskeletal complaint), RD (reduction deficiency), UEWD (Upper Extremity Work Demands), ULA (upper limb absence)To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: January 11, 2016
Footnotes
Supported by Stichting Beatrixoord Noord Nederland (project no. 210.134). The sponsor had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, interpretation of data, and writing of the report.
Disclosures: none.
Identification
Copyright
© 2016 by the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine
