A qualitative study on prehabilitation before total hip and knee arthroplasties: integration of patients' and clinicians' perspectives

To explore and integrate the perspectives of patients with hip and knee osteoarthritis (OA), their caregivers, and clinicians who are working with these patients about current preoperative rehabilitation (‟prehab”) content and delivery. Participants were individuals with hip (n = 46) or knee OA (n = 14), their family caregivers (n = 16), and clinicians working with patients with hip/knee OA (n = 15). In semi-structured interviews and focus groups, participants answered questions regarding barriers to accessing prehab, gaps in prehab content, learning preferences, and delivery formats. Interviews were audiotaped and transcribed verbatim. Data were analyzed using Qualitative Description method. Four main themes were identified: (1) ‟I didn't get any of that” discusses barriers in accessing prehab; (2) ‟I never got a definitive answer” highlights necessary information in prehab; (3) ‟better idea of what's going to happen” emphasizes the positive and negative aspects of prehab; (4) ‟a lot of people are shifting to online” describes participants' perspectives on online education. Our findings confirm the need for prehab education and the potential of online prehab education. The results inform the development of prehab educational modules based on users' input.