An evaluation of the impact on comfort and function of a novel harnessing strategy, Brasthesis, for woman using upper extremity prostheses: A qualitative feasibility study.

BACKGROUND

Women with upper extremity amputations are more likely to reject a prosthesis, and poor comfort is a primary reason for prosthesis rejection. Brasthesis was developed in the Department of Veteran's Affairs with the goal of improving prosthesis fit and comfort for women with major upper extremity amputations. Brasthesis is a harnessing system that incorporates the prosthesis support harness into a sports bra for women. The goal of this pilot study was to evaluate feasibility, acceptability, and impact of Brasthesis on a small group of women receiving care in the Veteran's Affairs.

METHODS

We conducted a qualitative pilot feasibility and acceptability study of Brasthesis. Five subjects were fitted with Brasthesis. They participated in an intake interview, an interview after 1 month wearing Brasthesis, and a focus group to debrief on experiences wearing Brasthesis. Interview and focus group data were analyzed using a rapid approach to deductive content analysis to identify key findings related to feasibility, acceptability, and impacts of Brasthesis.

RESULTS

Findings around feasibility included a satisfactory fitting process and ability to independently don and remove Brasthesis. Findings around acceptability included improved comfort and satisfaction with appearance relative to the prior harnessing system. Findings around impact included (1) wearing prostheses for longer amounts of time, (2) improved functional use of prostheses, (3) changes in activity-specific prosthesis use, and (4) increased confidence wearing and using prostheses.

CONCLUSIONS

Participants described positive experiences including improvements in comfort, increased wearing time, and better ability to functionally use the prosthesis. Innovations like Brasthesis are critical to support quality of life for women with limb loss.