A usabilidade aparente de próteses do membro inferior: uma visão do idoso amputado.

Abstract

The aging process and lower limb amputation involve changes in the autonomy and independence of the elderly with disabilities, impacting both their locomotion and performance during daily activities. In view of this, aiming at the rehabilitation of individuals in this condition, the use of assistive devices such as lower limb prostheses, which currently have one of the highest rates of abandonment by the user, stands out. Locally, in order to verify if the previous trend exists, this study presents the objective of evaluating, from the point of view of elderly amputees receiving care at the CER IV/CG, the models that will be used by them after the rehabilitation treatment, considering apparent usability from the product's functions. For this, was adopted as this research foundation the Ergonomic Analysis of Work (AET) method. Due to the topic’s complexity and restrictive circumstances arising from the SARS-CoV-2 virus, different data collection tools were applied remotely in the activity modeling stage, such as a questionnaire, semi structured interview and Semantic Differential Scale (SD). In most cases, although the results from psychological investigations suggest favorable conditions for the acceptance of the product; other findings on the socio-family characteristics of the elderly indicate a divided panorama: sometimes it is headed for abandonment, sometimes for acceptance, depending on the family. The DS results suggested that, at different levels, there is a tendency towards future abandonment by the elderly consulted covering both transfemoral and transtibial models. In order to avoid abandonment in suspicion, indications and recommendations were listed for the evaluated models, with regard to apparent usability from the practical, aesthetic and symbolic aspects found. In this context, it was essential to consider the psychosocial context of interaction between the elderly and the prosthesis, as not only the user particularities in an AT product interaction, but also the external use factors can influence the future abandonment/acceptance of the lower prosthesis by the elderly user.