Which functional activities matter most to the patients during the first six months after hip or knee arthroplasty: a survey study

Background: Understanding what matters most to patients can help clinicians plan healthcare more responsive to patients' needs after orthopedic surgery. However, there is still little understanding of which activities patients undergoing hip or knee arthroplasty prioritize at different time points after surgery. Purpose: This study aimed to explore key functional activities from patients' perspectives at different timepoints during the first six months after hip or knee arthroplasty. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted at The Ottawa Hospital in Ottawa, Canada. Patients who underwent hip or knee arthroplasty due to osteoarthritis (OA) were recruited. A validated self-report questionnaire based on the activity and participation components of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health (ICF) core set for osteoarthritis was used. Results: A total of 953 patients participated, including 503 hip arthroplasty patients and 450 knee arthroplasty patients. Patients identified 23 key functional activities and 26 non-key functional activities within 2 weeks, at six, 13, and 26 weeks post-arthroplasty. Patients highlighted different key activities across various stages following hip or knee arthroplasty, with a decline in the number of key activities over time. During the acute recovery phase, patients focused on simpler activities such as walking short distances and self-care, progressing to more advanced activities like squatting and walking long distances as recovery advanced. The findings revealed similar key activities between patients undergoing hip and knee arthroplasty. Conclusion: The study identified how patients' perspective on key activities changed over different recovery stages following hip or knee arthroplasty. Understanding what matters most to patients enables clinicians to assess outcomes more accurately as well as adapt interventions that align with patients' needs in order to optimize time to recovery.