The rehabilitation of the amputee in the developing world: a review of the literature.

Introduction For this presentation, 388 references were reviewed including journal articles, progress reports, field assessments, internal documentation, books, newspapers and magazine articles. Many of the amputeeinvolved organizations very graciously sent additional materials and a collection of articles was provided from RECAL at the University of Strathclyde. A general point about collecting literature on the rehabilitation of the amputee in the developing world is that search parameters should include landmines, recent wars, humanitarian programmes, leprosy, as well as amputation, prosthetics, orthotics and wheelchairs. All these areas will lead to information on the subject. This paper is organised into seven sections including: cause and incidence of amputation in the developing world; action triggers for amputee rehabilitation; amputee rehabilitation programmes in the developing world; cultural, geographical, and economic impediments to amputee rehabilitation; rehabilitation triage; prosthetics profession culture building; and outcomes in amputee rehabilitation and prosthetics production.