The long-term effects of a medical intervention: Determinants and implications of orthotic equipment failure

This paper tracks the outcomes of a medical intervention which provided lower limb orthosis to adults with disabilities between 2012 and 2018. Six years after the intervention, over one-third of the recipients were still using their orthotic devices. Using a discrete time hazard model, the analysis examines the speed at which the orthotic devices failed and evaluates how personal characteristics and clinical factors acted as potential risk markers of early equipment failure. The study finds that the peak time of failure lay between the fourth- and fifth-year post-fitting, with the probability of orthosis failure being significantly lower for women, the elderly and most importantly, those who had access to follow up care compared to their respective counterparts. The study also analysed the implications of orthotics failure on life satisfaction, health-related quality of life and severity of disability, which are designed to measure subjective wellbeing. Notably, the results indicate that access to follow up care improves functional efficiency, while failure of the orthosis consistently acts as a negative correlate of wellbeing.