FACTORS DETERMINING THE PSYCHOMETRIC ASSESSMENT OF PATIENTS AFTER HIP REPLACEMENT SURGERY

Background
The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of selected factors such as place of residence, education, age, duration of hospitalization and pain intensity before and after hip replacement surgery on the level of acceptance of the illness, on the subjective assessment of the patient’s state of health during surgery and on the level of pain and the ability to manage and reduce pain.

Material and methods
The study included 181 patients diagnosed with hip joint degeneration and qualified for total hip replacement hospitalized in the Regional Specialist Hospital in Biała Podlaska, Poland. The study was conducted by means of a diagnostic survey with the use of a set of questionnaires: Acceptance of Illness Scale – AIS, WOMAC Scale, SF-36 Questionnaire, BPCQ Questionnaire.

Results
More than half of the respondents (55.2%) were highly accepting of their condition. The level of acceptance was influenced by the place of residence, education, age, the intensity of pain after surgery and functional limitation. The overall assessment of the quality of life in the physical domain was – 62.9 points, with the worst scores for physical functioning and general health. Analysis with the WOMAC questionnaire showed that the majority of the subjects scored below 50 points on the functional limitation scale. All factors, except the level of pain before surgery, influenced the degree of functional limitation.

Conclusions
Age, place of residence and education provided opportunities for pain control and the ability to reduce pain was perceived by those with longer hospital stays. Participants from cities had the highest quality of life. Education influenced the quality of life, which decreased with age and higher pain intensity. The better the quality of life, the higher the level of acceptance of illness, and vice versa.