title: Preoperative information provided to Swedish and immigrant patients before total hip replacement.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Total hip replacement is an operation that usually leads to pain relief and improved health related quality of life (HRQoL). Previous studies have demonstrated the importance of information about upcoming surgery. Therefore, it was of interest to study how both immigrants, whose first language was not Swedish, and Swedish patients described pre-operative information.
  
  
  METHODS
  Individual interviews were conducted with 10 immigrants and 10 Swedish participants. The data were analysed using qualitative content analysis. The study was carried out in western Sweden from March to November 2010.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The findings revealed that pre-operative information for all patients undergoing elective total hip replacement was limited. Patients from both groups expressed concern about inadequate preoperative information pertaining to the surgery, implant selection, pain relief, choice of anaesthesia, no or too short a time to put questions to the surgeon and an overall stressful situation.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Adequate preoperative information is important for optimising pain relief and shortening the hospital stay. The fact that the patients overwhelmingly rated the preoperative information as inadequate may be due to several reasons. Mental distress and the two-week interval between the time when the patient received the information and the operation might have contributed to the low degree of retention.
authors: Department of Orthopaedics, Institute of Surgical Sciences, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Sweden. ferid.krupic@vgregion.se
authors: Ferid
authors: F
authors: Krupic
authors: Sylvia
authors: S
authors: Määttä
authors: Göran
authors: G
authors: Garellick
authors: Elisabeth Dahlborg
authors: ED
authors: Lyckhage
authors: Johan
authors: J
authors: Kärrholm
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D019644:Arthroplasty, Replacement, Hip; D054242:Emigrants and Immigrants; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D013548:Sweden