Experiences of lower limb prosthetic users in a rural setting in the Mpumalanga Province, South Africa:

Background:Ambulation with a prosthesis is the ultimate goal of rehabilitation for a person with a major lower limb amputation. Due to challenges with prosthetic service delivery in rural settings, many patients with amputations are not benefitting from prosthetic interventions. Inaccessibility to prosthetic services results in worse functional outcomes and quality of life. Learning from the experiences of current prosthetic users in this setting can assist to improve prosthetic service delivery.Objectives:To explore the experiences of lower limb prosthetic users and to understand the importance of a lower limb prosthesis to a prosthetic user in a rural area of South Africa.Study design:A generic qualitative approach and an explorative design were utilised in this study.Methods:A semi-structured interview guide was used to collect data from nine prosthetic users in a rural area in the Mpumalanga province of South Africa. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed thematically. Demog...