Understanding the Relationship Between Patient-Reported Function and Actual Function in the Upper Limb Prosthesis User Population: A Preliminary Study.

Objective: To understand how perceived function relates to actual function at a specific stage in the rehabilitation process for the population using upper limb prostheses.

Design: Quantitative clinical descriptive study.

Setting: Clinical offices.

Factors influencing perceived function in the upper limb prosthesis user population.

Background: Patient-reported outcomes (PROs) can be used to evaluate perceived capacity of an individual in executing tasks in a natural environment with their prosthetic device. According to the World Health Organization International Classification of Health, Functioning, and Disability (ICF) models, there may be specific factors of a person, factors of assistive prosthetic technology, or factors related to the health condition or body function that affect their functioning and disability. However, an understanding of factors affecting an upper limb prosthesis user's perception of their ability to execute tasks in a natural environment is not well established.