OBJECTIVE The aging of
the population leads to an increase in the incidence of "wear and tear"
diseases such as arthritis and, consequently, to an increase in the
number of planned orthopedic surgical procedures, including total joint
arthroplasty (TJA). The empowering education of patients, which is an
essential aspect of nursing care, has been associated with positive
health outcomes. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the
knowledge, expectations and the received knowledge of patients
undergoing TJA of the hip or knee.

METHOD A longitudinal,
descriptive, correlational study was conducted, with measurements prior
to surgery, at hospital discharge, and at six months after the surgery.
Data were collected from patients who were undergoing knee or hip TJA in
three general hospitals in Attica. The instruments used for data
collection were the Hospital Patients' Knowledge Expectations and
Received Knowledge Scales. The principles of the Declaration of Helsinki
(2008) were followed throughout the study. Data analysis was performed
using parametric tests.

RESULTS The mean age of
the patients was 72.32 years. The majority of patients were women
(71.3%), graduates of elementary school (76.1%) and most were without
vocational education (80.4%). The patients had high expectations for
knowledge, particularly in the functional and biophysiological
dimensions of empowering education. The patients' expectations for
knowledge, as assessed by the Hospital Patients' Received Knowledge
Scale at discharge from the hospital and at six months after the
surgery, were not sufficiently addressed. The patients' expectations
were mostly covered in the functional and biophysiological dimensions.
Age was not associated with the patients' expected and received
knowledge.

CONCLUSIONS Patients
reported that they had high expectations for their education and that
these expectations were not fully covered, which hinders their
empowerment. Patient education by nurses constitutes an important
individualized nursing intervention and efforts for its promotion will
contribute to the upgrading of the role of nursing in Greek society. In
the future, it is important to offer several educational options to the
patients and the initiative must be on the part of the nurses.