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27-Apr-2016
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Arch Hellen Med, 33(3), May-June 2016, 386-398 ORIGINAL PAPER Empowering education of patients undergoing total hip or knee arthroplasty P. Copanitsanou,1 P. Sourtzi,2 K. Valkeapaa,3 C. Lemonidou2 |
OBJECTIVE The aging of the population leads to an increase in the incidence of "wear and tear" diseases such as arthritis and, consequently, to an increase in the number of planned orthopedic surgical procedures, including total joint arthroplasty (TJA). The empowering education of patients, which is an essential aspect of nursing care, has been associated with positive health outcomes. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the knowledge, expectations and the received knowledge of patients undergoing TJA of the hip or knee.
METHOD A longitudinal, descriptive, correlational study was conducted, with measurements prior to surgery, at hospital discharge, and at six months after the surgery. Data were collected from patients who were undergoing knee or hip TJA in three general hospitals in Attica. The instruments used for data collection were the Hospital Patients' Knowledge Expectations and Received Knowledge Scales. The principles of the Declaration of Helsinki (2008) were followed throughout the study. Data analysis was performed using parametric tests.
RESULTS The mean age of the patients was 72.32 years. The majority of patients were women (71.3%), graduates of elementary school (76.1%) and most were without vocational education (80.4%). The patients had high expectations for knowledge, particularly in the functional and biophysiological dimensions of empowering education. The patients' expectations for knowledge, as assessed by the Hospital Patients' Received Knowledge Scale at discharge from the hospital and at six months after the surgery, were not sufficiently addressed. The patients' expectations were mostly covered in the functional and biophysiological dimensions. Age was not associated with the patients' expected and received knowledge.
CONCLUSIONS Patients reported that they had high expectations for their education and that these expectations were not fully covered, which hinders their empowerment. Patient education by nurses constitutes an important individualized nursing intervention and efforts for its promotion will contribute to the upgrading of the role of nursing in Greek society. In the future, it is important to offer several educational options to the patients and the initiative must be on the part of the nurses.
Key words: Empowering education, Patient education, Total joint arthroplasty.
