D4H Journal - Vlachaki et al. 2020.pdf (599.32 kB)
Exploring users’ attitudes towards prosthesis aesthetics in the UK and Greece
journal contribution
posted on 2020-01-31, 13:47 authored by Anna Vlachaki, Abby PatersonAbby Paterson, Samantha Porter, Richard BibbPrevious studies have highlighted the importance of prostheses on users’ well-being;
however, the effects of the prosthetic appearance on users’ lives have not been
thoroughly explored. The aim of this study was to explore how the aesthetics of
prosthetic limbs affected users in two countries with different cultures; the UK and
Greece. Interpretative phenomenological analysis was used based on semi-structured
interviews, alongside probes. Seven participants (nUK=4; nGR=3) were recruited, based
on purposive methods. All the participants were adults, who had limb-loss due to
amputation. The results regarding the role of prosthetic limbs, with respect to their
appearance, revealed one theme related to users’ personal life, and two opposing
themes regarding users’ social lives. Prosthetic limbs with unattractive appearance
negatively affected participants’ well-being, whilst expressive prostheses, an alternative
prosthetic type that focuses on highlighting users’ identity, could increase their selfconfidence. Regardless of the extent to which participants were conscious about the
aesthetics of their prostheses, they indicated that expressive prostheses were more
attractive. Therefore, they could educate society and help users be more easily
accepted. However, caution needs to be paid in the case of collectivistic societies, as
expressive prostheses could increase users’ stigmatisation.
History
School
- Design
Published in
Design for HealthVolume
4Issue
1Pages
4 - 23Publisher
Taylor & FrancisVersion
- AM (Accepted Manuscript)
Rights holder
© Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis GroupPublisher statement
This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Design for Health on 14 February 2020, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/24735132.2020.1727699.Acceptance date
2020-01-30Publication date
2020-02-14Copyright date
2020ISSN
2473-5132eISSN
2473-5140Publisher version
Language
- en
Depositor
Miss Anna Vlachaki Deposit date: 31 January 2020Usage metrics
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