Quality of life experienced by South Sudanese lower limb prosthetic users after rehabilitation

Background: Prosthetic rehabilitation modifies functional limitations and psychological challenges caused by amputations, as it helps to restore mobility and body image. A physical rehabilitation centre in Juba, South Sudan, has been providing prosthetic rehabilitation since 2009 in this conflict to...

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Main Authors: Lotto Charles Paul Dominsiano, Surona Visagie
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: AOSIS 2025-07-01
Series:African Journal of Disability
Subjects:
Online Access:https://ajod.org/index.php/ajod/article/view/1671
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author Lotto Charles Paul Dominsiano
Surona Visagie
author_facet Lotto Charles Paul Dominsiano
Surona Visagie
author_sort Lotto Charles Paul Dominsiano
collection DOAJ
description Background: Prosthetic rehabilitation modifies functional limitations and psychological challenges caused by amputations, as it helps to restore mobility and body image. A physical rehabilitation centre in Juba, South Sudan, has been providing prosthetic rehabilitation since 2009 in this conflict torn part of the world. Objectives: To determine the quality of life (QoL) of persons with unilateral transfemoral or transtibial amputations who have received prosthetic rehabilitation in Juba, South Sudan. Method: A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 40 participants, identified through consecutive sampling. Data were collected through face-to-face interviews using the World Health Organization Quality of Life Brief Version (WHOQOL-BREF)questionnaire. Descriptive analysis was conducted, and relationships between QoL and participants’ demographic and medical information were explored through the t-test and analysis of variance (normally distributed data) and the Mann–Whitney U and Kruskal–Wallace tests (skewed data). Results: Mean domain scores were physical (74.28%), psychological (72.59%), social (71.40%) and environmental (58.81%). Overall QoL and overall health satisfaction had mean scores of 4.1/5 and 3.975/5. Marital status (0.049) and occupation (0.022) played a significant role in psychological QoL. No other demographic or medical variable had a significant effect on overall or domain QoL scores. Women were significantly more satisfied with their health than men (0.046). Conclusion: Overall, participants had high QoL scores. This might be because of prosthetic rehabilitation. Lower scores in the environmental domain might be because of poverty and the continuous danger of armed conflict. Contribution: Even when using basic components, prosthetic rehabilitation can significantly improve QoL after lower limb amputation.
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spelling doaj-art-0b8c8d4c4ef64100a11b5be3d4badbb72025-08-04T09:04:55ZengAOSISAfrican Journal of Disability2223-91702226-72202025-07-01140e1e1010.4102/ajod.v14i0.1671472Quality of life experienced by South Sudanese lower limb prosthetic users after rehabilitationLotto Charles Paul Dominsiano0Surona Visagie1Division of Disability and Rehabilitation Studies, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Cape TownDivision of Disability and Rehabilitation Studies, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Cape TownBackground: Prosthetic rehabilitation modifies functional limitations and psychological challenges caused by amputations, as it helps to restore mobility and body image. A physical rehabilitation centre in Juba, South Sudan, has been providing prosthetic rehabilitation since 2009 in this conflict torn part of the world. Objectives: To determine the quality of life (QoL) of persons with unilateral transfemoral or transtibial amputations who have received prosthetic rehabilitation in Juba, South Sudan. Method: A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 40 participants, identified through consecutive sampling. Data were collected through face-to-face interviews using the World Health Organization Quality of Life Brief Version (WHOQOL-BREF)questionnaire. Descriptive analysis was conducted, and relationships between QoL and participants’ demographic and medical information were explored through the t-test and analysis of variance (normally distributed data) and the Mann–Whitney U and Kruskal–Wallace tests (skewed data). Results: Mean domain scores were physical (74.28%), psychological (72.59%), social (71.40%) and environmental (58.81%). Overall QoL and overall health satisfaction had mean scores of 4.1/5 and 3.975/5. Marital status (0.049) and occupation (0.022) played a significant role in psychological QoL. No other demographic or medical variable had a significant effect on overall or domain QoL scores. Women were significantly more satisfied with their health than men (0.046). Conclusion: Overall, participants had high QoL scores. This might be because of prosthetic rehabilitation. Lower scores in the environmental domain might be because of poverty and the continuous danger of armed conflict. Contribution: Even when using basic components, prosthetic rehabilitation can significantly improve QoL after lower limb amputation.https://ajod.org/index.php/ajod/article/view/1671amputationhealth statusquality of lifephysicalpsychologicalsocialenvironmentalprostheses.
spellingShingle Lotto Charles Paul Dominsiano
Surona Visagie
Quality of life experienced by South Sudanese lower limb prosthetic users after rehabilitation
African Journal of Disability
amputation
health status
quality of life
physical
psychological
social
environmental
prostheses.
title Quality of life experienced by South Sudanese lower limb prosthetic users after rehabilitation
title_full Quality of life experienced by South Sudanese lower limb prosthetic users after rehabilitation
title_fullStr Quality of life experienced by South Sudanese lower limb prosthetic users after rehabilitation
title_full_unstemmed Quality of life experienced by South Sudanese lower limb prosthetic users after rehabilitation
title_short Quality of life experienced by South Sudanese lower limb prosthetic users after rehabilitation
title_sort quality of life experienced by south sudanese lower limb prosthetic users after rehabilitation
topic amputation
health status
quality of life
physical
psychological
social
environmental
prostheses.
url https://ajod.org/index.php/ajod/article/view/1671
work_keys_str_mv AT lottocharlespauldominsiano qualityoflifeexperiencedbysouthsudaneselowerlimbprostheticusersafterrehabilitation
AT suronavisagie qualityoflifeexperiencedbysouthsudaneselowerlimbprostheticusersafterrehabilitation