Download

Download Full Text (293 KB)

Description

About 185,000 amputations occur every year, leaving roughly about 2 million individuals currently living with limb loss in the United States. Within this population, about 45% of these injuries occur from traumatic events (Department of Veteran Affairs, 2022). These events include military veterans injured in combat, civilian motor vehicle accidents, gun shot wounds, industrial incidents, and various other traumatic events (Pomares et al., 2020). Due to the the recent loss of a limb, individuals within this population are at high risk of occupational abandonment secondary to many factors that are discussed within the Model of Human Occupation. Following a traumatic amputation, an individual may experience a decline in physical performance secondary to the loss of a limb. With this decline in performance, an individuals perception of their own abilities performing within their previous meaningful occupations may decline as well (Krisjansdottir et al., 2020). This could be due to a multitude of factors, including a decline in confidence to perform a variety of previously desired tasks. Following this decline in volition, an individual living with limb loss will experience a decrease in habituation due to a sudden change in their internalized roles. This change in roles is secondary to a correlation between decline in performance due to the recent loss of a limb and also a decline in volition. A major occupation that is heavily impacted by these factors is work. Work is an occupation that majority of our population participates in. When impacted, the decrease of participation can affect an individual's overall well-being in a negative manner (Edgelow, et al., 2020). Work provides an individual with many benefits such as fulfillment, economic independence, and social participation; however, it can also be harmful to an individual’s overall well-being if it is impacted in a negative manner (Edgelow et al., 2020). Society values work because it provides people with a sense of purpose and belonging to something larger than themselves. Furthermore, work emphasizes effort through external rewards such as compensation or promotion that then leads to self-satisfaction (Edgelow et al., 2020). This degree of influence work has on an individual’s well-being means it can heavily influence other occupations negatively and eventually lead to occupational abandonment.

Publication Date

Spring 4-18-2024

Publisher

University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences

Keywords

Social participation, Habituation, Volition, Amputation, Occupations, Perception

Medical Subject Headings

Social participation, Habituation, Volition, Amputation, Occupations, Perception

Disciplines

Occupational Therapy | Psychiatry and Psychology

Comments

Poster presented at the Virtual OTD Capstone Symposium, held online at the University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences on April 10-17, 2024.

Work Hardening and Mindfulness Training for Individuals Living with Traumatic Limb Loss

Share

COinS