A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal
Empowering knowledge and its connection to health-related quality of life: A cross-cultural study: A concise and informative title: Empowering knowledge and its connection to health-related quality of life
Authors: Koekenbier K, Leino-Kilpi H, Cabrera E, Istomina N, Johansson Stark å, Katajisto J, Lemonidou C, Papastavrou E, Salanterä S, Sigurdardottir A, Valkeapää K, Eloranta S
Publisher: W B SAUNDERS CO-ELSEVIER INC
Publication year: 2016
Journal: Applied Nursing Research
Volume: 29
First page : 211
Last page: 216
Number of pages: 6
ISSN: 0897-1897
eISSN: 1532-8201
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apnr.2015.05.004
Aims
Assess the association between patient education (i.e. empowering knowledge) and preoperative health-related quality of life, 6 months postoperative health-related quality of life, and the increase in health-related quality of life in osteoarthritis patients who underwent total hip or total knee arthroplasty.
Method
This is a cross-cultural comparative follow-up study using structured instruments to measure the difference between expected and received patient education and self-reported health-related quality of life (EQ-5D) in Finland, Greece, Iceland, Spain and Sweden.
Results
The health-related quality of life was significantly increased 6 months postoperatively in all countries due to the arthroplasties. In the total sample, higher levels of empowering knowledge were associated with a higher health-related quality of life, both pre- and postoperatively, but not with a higher increase in health-related quality of life. On the national level, postoperative health-related quality of life was associated with higher levels of empowering knowledge in Finland, Iceland and Sweden. The increase in health-related quality of life was associated with levels of empowering knowledge for Greece.
Conclusions
Overall, it can be concluded that the level of empowering knowledge was associated with high postoperative health-related quality of life in the total sample, even though there is some variation in the results per country.
