Accessing Prosthetics: Difficulties for Low-Income People

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Main Points
Conclusion
References

Introduction

Did you know that “persons with disabilities (PWD) are at higher risk of living in poverty, being unemployed, and having less access to healthcare compared to the general population” (Magnusson et al., 2022, p. 1)? From my viewpoint, it is a topic that we should be well aware of. Once entering the healthcare field, my attention was immediately attracted by the financial and infrastructural unaffordability of prostheses for the poor, and I devoted much time to explore it. Here, I want to describe the difficulties of accessing prosthetic services for low-income groups and individuals in America to you.

Main Points

It is no secret that poor people with limb losses struggle daily. Amputation management alone takes time and physical and mental effort (Krajbich et al., 2018). Moreover, losing a limb further limits the already small socioeconomic opportunities of underserved groups, both temporarily and permanently. The current health measures and initiatives are not enough to alleviate the suffering of these people and improve their lives. Most frustratingly, the physical hardships are not the only ones they face.

Many low-income people cannot get prosthetic services because of their costliness (Magnusson et al., 2022). Even before limb loss, economically struggling communities have to overcome multiple financial obstacles when entering healthcare and these economic barriers harden after becoming a disabled person. Little attention is paid to this linkage between preexisting monetary factors and new ones in poor and disabled individuals. In addition to economic difficulties, there are also infrastructural ones.

Many low-income people cannot access prosthetics because of outdated infrastructure. Various prosthetics services and treatments exist, but most are designed chiefly for the upper middle class and wealthy persons. Among the financially available ones, most focus on veterans, not poor people (Rehabilitation and prosthetic services, n.d.). Moreover, clinics and medical facilities that provide prostheses and related treatments are not present in areas with low-income groups.

Conclusion

As you might have realized, there are signs of the invisible health crisis in poor communities with limb loss. Studies show that its symptoms are driven by the high cost and obsolete infrastructure in the United States. Here we discussed the daily challenges such people have to overcome and the specific monetary and infrastructural barriers to getting prosthetics and associated treatments. Poor people with lost limbs have experienced pain and hardship, which I hope you will never encounter on your life path, and they deserve proper reintegration.

References

Krajbich, J. I., Pinzur, M. S., Potter, B. K., & Stevens, P. M. (Eds.). (2018). Atlas of amputations & limb deficiencies: Surgical, prosthetic, and rehabilitation principles (4th ed.). American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.

Lee, S. P., Chien, L. C., Chin, T., Fox, H., & Gutierrez, J. (2020). Financial difficulty in community-dwelling persons with lower limb loss is associated with reduced self-perceived health and wellbeing. Prosthetics and Orthotics International, 44(5), 290-297. doi:10.1177/0309364620921756.

Magnusson, L., Kebbie, I., & Jerwanska, V. (2022). Access to health and rehabilitation services for persons with disabilities in Sierra Leone – focus group discussions with stakeholders. BMC Health Services Research, 22(1), 1-11. doi:10.1186/s12913-022-08366-8

Rehabilitation and prosthetic services. (n.d.). U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs.

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Accessing Prosthetics: Difficulties for Low-Income People

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