Adolescents with congenital limb reduction deficiency: Perceptions of treatment during childhood and its meaning for their current and future situation

Patterns of use of a myoelectric prosthesis in a cohort of children with transverse defects below the level of the elbow

BACKGROUND

Myoelectric prostheses have become the accepted standard of care for pediatric upper-limb amputees.

OBJECTIVES

To describe the clinical characteristics and patterns of prosthesis use and to analyze the changes that occur during the growth process of these patients.

STUDY DESIGN

This is a longitudinal retrospective study comparing the results of surveys carried out in 2015 and 2022.

METHODS

The variables measured included clinical and demographic characteristics, patterns of use, and satisfaction with the prosthesis.

RESULTS

Twenty-one patients with transverse defects were fitted with myoelectric prostheses. With increasing age, there was a statistically nonsignificant decrease in the duration of use and a decrease in the number of patients using the prosthesis for activities of daily living from 13 to 10 (p = 0.045), with a 28% dropout rate, higher in patients with more distal defects.

CONCLUSIONS

Since 2015, we have observed a decrease in the number of hours of prosthesis use, while maintaining a high percentage of patients using the prosthesis.

Chinese Sexual Minority Students Experiencing Microaggressions: Implications for Sexuality Education

The sexual prejudice faced by sexual minorities or lesbian, gay, bisexual, and questioning/queer (LGBQ) students has been studied extensively around the world in the last two decades; however, it has only recently received attention from Hong Kong Chinese society, specifically in relation to this subtle form of prejudice. In the last decade, there has been an increase in the amount of literature examining the experiences of individuals encountering sexual orientation microaggressions, which are defined as discrimination or sexual prejudices manifested in subtle forms, particularly when directed toward socially marginalized groups, such as sexual minority students. The current study used a qualitative descriptive approach and semi-structured interviews to explore the themes of sexual orientation microaggressions experienced by Chinese sexual minority students. Several contextual themes to categorize microaggressions emerged: (1) the approval of heteronormative culture; (2) the use of heterosexist languages; (3) the assumption of sexual abnormality; and (4) the allowing of institutionally endorsed microaggressions. The results suggest that sexual minority students in Hong Kong experience diverse forms of microaggression in schools. The implications for the need to support LGBQ students are discussed, especially in addressing sexuality education in schools and the training of school professionals.