PREDICAMENTS OF PROSTHETISTS & ORTHOTISTS IN PAKISTAN

Objective: To find out the level of anxiety, depression and stress and its association with quality of life ofProsthetists and Orthotists. Study Design: Cross sectional study. Place and Duration of Study: Rehabilitation departments and institutes including Pakistan Institute of Prosthetic and Orthotic Sciences, Peshawar; King Edward Medical University, Lahore; Dow Medical University, Karachi; Rawalpindi Medical College, Rawalpindi; and Prosthetists and Orthotists working in public and private sectors, over a period of 6 months from Jun 2018 to Nov 2018. Methodology: A sample of 250 Prosthetists and Orthotists of both genders, aged 20 to 60 years, were recruitedusing non probability purposive sampling. Those working in administrative posts and those who graduated after 2017 were excluded. Demographic sheet; Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale-21; and 36-Item Short Form Health Survey-36 were administered through e-mail for data collection. Statistical analysis was done using SPSS Version21. Pearson correlation test was used to analyze any association. Results: Results revealed prevalence of 139 (55.6%) for depression with predominance of moderate depression63 (45.32%), followed by mild 37 (26.62%), severe 24 (17.37%) and very severe depression 15 (10.79%); 154 (61.6%) for anxiety with predominance of severe level of anxiety 59 (38.31%), followed by moderate 48 (31.17%), mild 26 (16.88%), & severe anxiety 21 (13,64%); and 115 (46%) for stress with predominance of moderate stress 55 (47.82%), followed by mild 30 (26.10%), severe 20 (17.39%) and very severe stress 10 (8.69%). For quality of life SF-36 revealed a total mean score of 62.54 ± 16.72 and statistically