The effect of the self-management program on function ability of patients after total knee replacement surgery in rehabilitation

Abstract

This quasi-experimental research aimed to study the effect of a self-management program on the functional ability of patients after total knee replacement surgery in the rehabilitation period. The sample consisted of 44 patients who underwent total knee replacement surgery. The participants divided into a control group (22 patients), who received routine nursing care, and an experimental group (22 patients), who received the self-management program. The experimental instrument was a self-management program consisting of the following 5 activities based on the self-management concept: 1) activities for preparing and learning good self-management processes; 2) activities for reviewing knowledge and practicing self-management processes; 3) activities for preparing before returning home; 4) activities for monitoring and continuous reminders; and  5) activities for continuous monitoring. Each activity took approximately 20-50 minutes and data was collected over a period of 4 weeks. The data collection tool was a function ability assessment form. The quality of the instrument was checked by 3 experts and the content validity was .95. The instrument’s Cronbach alpha coefficient was calculated at .90. The research was conducted between October 2023 and May 2024. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and t-tests.

      The results of the research found that the mean scores for the activity ability of post-knee replacement patients in the experimental group before and after the experiment were 16 (S.D. = 2.40) and 43.18 (S.D. = 1.46) respectively. The experimental group had a higher activity ability than the control group in the rehabilitation period after knee replacement surgery, with statistical significance at the .05 level. Therefore, the self-management program can be applied to provide care to patients after knee replacement surgery so that patients have good self-management skills after surgery, have rapid postoperative rehabilitation to return to normal life, and reduce complications that may occur in the postoperative period.