Quality of life patients after hip joint alloplasty

Introduction. Osteoarthritis, which binds thousands of patients to a wheelchair and makes daily life difficult for millions, is considered to be a serious social problem. Advances in surgery and pharmacology offer hope for a more effective fight against this disease and improving thepatients’ quality of life.

Aim. The aim of this study was to assess the quality of life of patients after hip replacement surgery.

Materials and methods. The study was conducted from May 2012 to June 2013 at the Rehabilitation Center in Kraków. The study was conducted at the Trauma Surgery ward on the day before hip replacement surgery and at the Outpatient Orthopedic Clinic 6 months after the surgery. The study included 100 patients. The study used a survey of our own design, scales: Barthel, SF-36, AIS. Applied statistical tests include: Wilcoxon test, Spaerman test, Pearson’s chi2.

Results. The quality of life of the respondents after hip replacement surgery noted a statistically significant improvement. The improvement of the patients’ quality of life was attributed to improved physical agility, weight loss, increased level of diseaseacceptance, and the possibility of self-care due to increase in the degree of independence in daily functioning.

Conclusions. Subjective assessment of health status and quality of life of patients following hip replacement surgery should play a large role in evaluating the effectiveness of treatment and nursing methods as well as patient education.

Nursing Topics 2014; 22 (1): 6–11