Prosthetic rehabilitation in practice: An exploration of experiential knowledge in the multidisciplinary team

The aim of this research was to explore the experiential knowledge of patient-facing staff working in a prosthetic rehabilitation centre in the United Kingdom. Eleven members of staff with varied roles and levels of experience took part in semi-structured interviews. Transcripts were analyzed using thematic analysis. Six themes were identified: 1) defining successful rehabilitation, 2) the complex reality of patient-centred care, 3) organizational and interpersonal challenges, 4) who provides psychological support? 5) prosthetic as a panacea, and 6) crash landing. These findings highlight the impact of rotational roles in an environment reliant on experiential knowledge, the challenge of applying patient-centred care models, and the negative effect of unrealistic beliefs about prosthetics on patients and staff. This study contributes to a limited pool of literature articulating the experiential knowledge of staff in the context of rehabilitation after major lower limb loss, facilitating the translation of practice-based evidence into evidence-based practice.