Impact of Improving Footwear Options for Women Veterans with Amputations

截肢的女性接受更频繁的假肢护理，但对合适的假肢不太满意， 舒适度，和假体的外观都比男性要好。这些发现并不令人惊讶，因为大多数 假体部件不是针对性别的，似乎是为男性设计的。组件 就像假肢是由模具制成的，假肢公司要想做到这一点，成本高得令人望而却步 提供数量众多、种类繁多的脚型选择。 最近的调查表明，接受腿部截肢的退伍军人无法穿上许多 由于假脚的限制，他们希望穿的鞋的类型。女退伍军人 在假体对鞋类选项的影响方面也遇到了更大的挑战 明显更关注身体形象，更少参与日常活动。 该项目将评估一种新的假体系统的影响，包括一个模块化的假肢脚踝， 可以与几个3D打印的脚互换使用。假肢是定制的，以适应 广泛的鞋类，包括不同鞋跟高度和宽度的鞋子。要更换鞋类， 使用者只需将假肢脚踝从一个脚鞋组合上移除并将其连接到另一个组合上， 而不需要工具或对假体对准的修改。这种新的假体系统 极大地改善了使用假肢的人的鞋类选择，使潜力能够增加 女性截肢退伍军人的身体形象和社区参与。 在这项研究中，将从全国样本中招募接受截肢的女性退伍军人来测试 模块化脚踝-3D打印脚部系统。将收集知情同意和基线措施 远程的。然后，女性将前往明尼阿波利斯退伍军人管理局，为其安装新型假肢系统 和他们选择的鞋子。适应新的假体系统将在几个月内进行 在明尼阿波利斯呆了几天，并接受了密切的临床监督。女退伍军人回国后，带着 截肢手术将被远程跟踪6个月，以跟踪其结果。这项研究将 用我们的新型假体验证这样的假设：改进鞋类选择将改善身体形象 以及参与女性截肢退伍军人。定性采访和PhotoVoice也将 在整个研究过程中进行，以了解使用这种新假体的好处和障碍 系统。

Women with amputations receive more frequent prosthetics care, but are less satisfied with the fit, comfort, and appearance of their prostheses than men. These findings are not surprising as most prosthesis components are not gender-specific and seem to have been designed for men. Components like prosthetic feet are made from molds, and it is prohibitively expensive for prosthetics companies to provide a high number and variety of foot shape options. Recent surveys indicate that women Veterans with leg amputations are unable to wear many of the types of footwear they desire to wear due to limitations of the prosthetic foot. Women Veterans who have greater perceived challenges with how their prosthesis affected footwear options also experienced significantly more body image concerns and participated less in daily activities. This project will assess the impact of a new prosthesis system including a modular prosthetic ankle that can be used interchangeably with several 3D-printed feet. The prosthetic feet are customized to fit a wide range of footwear, including shoes of different heel heights and widths. To change footwear, the user simply removes the prosthetic ankle from one foot-shoe combination and connects it to another, without the need for tools or modifications to the prosthetic alignment. This new prosthesis system dramatically improves footwear options for persons using leg prostheses, enabling potential to increase body image and community participation for women Veterans with leg amputations. In this study, women Veterans with amputations will be recruited from a national sample to test the modular ankle – 3D printed feet system. Informed consent and baseline measures will be collected remotely. Women will then travel to the Minneapolis VA to be fitted with the novel prosthesis system and shoes of their choice. Accommodation to the new prosthesis system will take place over several days in Minneapolis with close clinical supervision. After returning home, women Veterans with amputations will be followed remotely for a period of 6-months to track their outcomes. The study will test the hypotheses that improving footwear options with our novel prosthesis will improve body image and participation in women Veterans with amputations. Qualitative interviewing and photovoice will also be conducted throughout the study to understand the benefits and barriers to using this new prosthesis system.