One-Handed Bra Aid: The Innovation That Helps You Put on A Bra with One Hand

Abstract

The important symptom in the patient with hemiplegia is a weakness in one side of the upper extremity and lower extremity that affects the patient’s activities of daily living. The patients with severe weakness in the upper extremitiy will be trained to do the basic activities of daily living by using a one-hand technique for their independent performance. The one overlooked problem that happens to female patients with hemiplegia is how to put on a bra. To put on a bra, you have to use both hands to stitch the hook of a bra, so it is very difficult for the patients to do by themselves. The author has developed an innovation called a “One-handed bra aid”. This device helps hold one end of the bra in place so the hemiplegic patient can stitch the hook on another side of the bra together. This innovation is made of fabric sewn into a neck strap with a clip to hold one end to the pants and a double wire to fix the bra strap. The result of using this innovation in 10 hemiplegic patients, all of them were able to put on the bra with hooks by themselves. When doing a satisfaction questionnaire, 90% of the patients showed satisfaction at a high to the highest levels. Also, the “One-handed bra aid” helps the patients reduce the expenses for buying type of bra or an expensive imported commercial assistive device. However, the patients have to be trained how to use this innovation before letting them use it independently at home.