title: Expectation and outlook: the impact of patient preference on arthritis care among African Americans.
abstract: We investigated beliefs of blacks with osteoarthritis (OA) regarding total knee replacement (TKR) surgery. These beliefs potentially related to the known racial disparity in the use of TKR. Ninety-four community-dwelling blacks aged 50 to 89 with knee OA in Harlem, NY, were assessed for arthritis knowledge, expectations, quality of life (QoL), and disability. Subjects have had OA for a median of 6 years and the disability was severe. Only 36% believed that TKR was likely to improve knee pain; 45% stated that TKR would not improve their current health. Mean QoL was 7.6 +/- 1.7 (max 10). Despite debilitating OA, African American patients perceive a high QoL, yet have low expectations from TKR and are therefore less likely to consider TKR as a treatment for OA.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tenn 37212, USA. kathleen.figaro@vanderbilt.edu
authors.forename: M Kathleen
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Figaro
authors.forename: Pamela
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Williams-Russo
authors.forename: John P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Allegrante
mesh_terms: D001741:Black or African American; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001168:Arthritis / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology / Q000601:surgery*; D019645:Arthroplasty, Replacement, Knee; D006233:Persons with Disabilities; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009519:New York City; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D011788:Quality of Life