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Patient empowerment after total hip and knee replacement
Maureen Loft1, Carol McWilliam, Catherine Ward-Griffin
1St. Joseph's Health Care, London, Ontario, Canada.
Orthopedic Nursing
|March 19, 2003
Summary
Elderly patients recovering from hip or knee replacement often feel disempowered by professional caregivers but empowered by nonprofessional ones, highlighting a need for better in-home care strategies.
Area of Science:
- Gerontology
- Nursing
- Healthcare Management
Background:
- Post-hospital discharge care for elderly patients undergoing hip or knee replacement is critical for recovery.
- Empowerment in patient-provider relationships significantly impacts healthcare experiences.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore patient empowerment within in-home care relationships after major orthopedic surgery.
- To understand the dynamics of empowerment in elderly patients receiving care post-total hip or total knee replacement.
Main Methods:
- Interpretive phenomenology approach.
- Semi-structured audiotaped interviews with nine participants.
- Thematic analysis of interview data.
Main Results:
- A strong desire for independence emerged as a central theme.
- Patients reported disempowered relationships with professional in-home care providers.
- Patients reported more equitable, empowered relationships with nonprofessional care providers.
Conclusions:
- Disempowerment by professional caregivers was not a primary dissatisfier, with patients deferring to the traditional expert healthcare model.
- Further research is required to determine the impact of empowerment on patient satisfaction and clinical outcomes in post-operative care.