A Comparative Study of the Effectiveness of a Preoperative Education Programme for Total Hip Replacement Patients

Abstract

This study examined some effects of providing preoperative education to patients prior to their hospital admission for a total hip replacement. The preoperative education programmes are organised and presented by an occupational therapist with the assistance of a physiotherapist, an anaesthetist, an orthopaedic nurse and a dietician. The content includes information on preparation for surgery, what to expect of admission, surgery and rehabilitation, and how to prepare for discharge. A quasi-experimental design was used to compare a group of patients who had attended an education programme with, as control, a group of patients who had not. The variables Investigated were length of hospitalisation, morphine usage, mobility independence and discharge preparation. The results showed that the patients in the experimental group had a mean of 4 days' less hospitalisation than the control group, required less postoperative morphine and achieved mobility independence sooner. The control patients' lack of knowledge of what to expect from their surgery was evident from the lack of preparation for their discharge home. Large financial savings were then calculated as a direct consequence.

The Efficacy of Patient Information Sheets in Wrist Arthroscopy: A Randomised Controlled Trial

“…18 Any study to compare outcomes in patients having or not having preoperative education would be unethical. 13 Patients have the right to receive at least standard information about the procedure and to decide whether to participate in any such study or The efficacy of patient information sheets in wrist arthroscopy 87 not. 6 In our experimental group, patients who received specific information on the procedure and written instructions on postoperative care through a takehome leaflet had significantly better recovery after wrist arthroscopy.…”

Patient information after ruptured intracranial aneurysm

“…Studies on the benefits of preoperative information have shown positive effects on outcomes such as decreasing anxiety, pain and increasing self-care (Devine 1992, Spalding 1995, Davidson & Degner 1997, Walker 2002). Davidson and Degner evaluated an educational intervention that aimed to empower men who were newly diagnosed with prostate cancer.…”

What characterizes the ‘usual’ preoperative education in clinical contexts?

“…However, little information is given about what the usual care actually comprises although, of course, such a concept would not be the same across different contexts. Although more recent studies continue to employ similar research designs in extending this knowledge base (Spalding, 1995;Gammon & Mulholland, 1996;Tooth et al, 1997;Lookinland & Pool, 1998), the notion of what constitutes the usual care continues to be nebulous. Shuldam (1999) has raised the issue of a general lack of detail about what usual preoperative education is comprised of, and questions the integrity of the findings from such experiments.…”